Liquida Tenebris
by DoYouMindIfISlytherin
Summary: Something is 'wrong,' with Harry. He's hearing voices. or rather, a voice. Its telling him he's been on the wrong side since the beginning. Harry doesn't believe it. But for how long? Dark!Harry, eventual HP/LV slash. Don't like don't read. Complete with epilogue. Sequel up.
1. Paved with good intentions

**Paved with good intentions**

_"Come out, come out, little Harry! What did you come after me for, then? I thought you were here to avenge my dear cousin!" Bellatrix Lestrange's voice still rang in Harry's ears._

_"I am!" He remembered screaming at her._

_"Aaaaaah...did you love him, little baby Potter?"_

_What had happened next had stunned even Harry himself. Something inside him caught fire at her taunts. His head was buzzing, everything faded out slightly and tilted oddly to the right. He wanted her to suffer, as he was. Because his heart was set to burst with grief and regret. And he knew it was just the beginning. He was still in shock. He knew the worst would hit him later, when he was alone. And he hated her for it. Barely seeing what he was doing, he raised his wand to her. She didn't even raise hers in return._

_She just laughed. She was underestimating him._

_"Crucio!" his voice was hoarse, but at moment he couldn't seem to remember why._

_Bellatrix hit the ground screaming, just as Harry hoped she would. He could feel his grin widening, adrenalin pumping through his veins furiously. Something in the pit of his stomach exploded forth gleefully. He'd never felt so alive as he did right then. She was screaming and writhing under his wand, and he loved her agony. This was the beginning of his revenge, and he couldn't wait to feel the rest of them suffer under his wand._

OoOoO

Harry sat in his dingy room at the Dursley's, sighing as he watched the window, barely seeing beyond it. He'd just woken up, and wasn't looking forward to another day at the Dursley's.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even get up anymore." He sighed under his breath. Hedwig hooted at him softly from her cage.

Ever since he'd had his confrontation with Bellatrix, he'd felt strange. Itchy on the inside almost. That was the only way he could think to describe it.

Hogwarts was set to begin the next school year in two weeks, and he was supposed to be picked up tonight by some members of the Order to go to the burrow. He was hoping the itch would stop when he was back with his friends. Or at least, once he returned to Hogwarts.

It was starting to put him on edge. Though it did feel like he was missing something vital, it didn't feel like it was Sirius, or his friends, that he was missing.

If he were perfectly blunt, he hadn't really felt much grief at all for Sirius' death. And it worried him no end. The only conclusion he could come to has that the Death Eaters had done something to him in the Department of Mysteries. For the second time that morning, his mind drifted back to when he cast the Crucio curse on Bellatrix. An odd shiver ran up his spine at the thought.

There was definitely something wrong with him, he decided.

No one in their right mind should get a pleasant shiver while thinking about torture. He sighed again and got up. He needed to figure this out, and fast.

When he got downstairs, he headed straight out the front door, grateful that no one seemed to notice him leaving. He would deal with the consequences later. Right then, though, he needed to be anywhere else. He ended up behind some buildings in an alley. Confident no one would find him there, he slid down the wall and let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

He couldn't bear the thought of telling anyone about what he'd been feeling lately, let alone his friends. He resolved to work it out himself. No one else needed to worry about him as well as the coming war.

And it was coming now. No if or buts. The minister had seen Voldemort with his own eyes. There was no denying it now. Of course, no one had apologized about treating him like a leper, Harry mused bitterly. All he did was warn them, and he had been treated like a mental patient, at best.

Harry found himself growling in anger and had to force it back down. He'd never growled in his life. Something needed to be done, because the itch was only getting stronger. And Harry was only getting angrier. After finally getting a grip, he reentered the house.

Later that night, after only being sent to his room without supper, Harry waited on his bed, musing his lack of punishment. The best he could come up with was that he was leaving tonight, and they couldn't be bothered sparing the energy.

As soon as he heard the Dursley's turn in for the night, Harry began to panic.

As far as he knew, Moody, Lupin, and Tonks were taking him back to the burrow. What if Moody somehow sensed his quickly growing anger? He heard a knock on the door and his uncle yelling about inconsiderate freaks.

He was quick to grab his trunk and Hedwig and race down the stairs. Fear be damned, he wanted out. And he wanted to see his friends. He was still holding onto the hope that the itch would fade away with good company and distraction.

A short time later they'd apparated just outside of the Burrow's wards. "You feeling alright Harry?" Tonks asked. She looked sympathetic.

To Harry's shame, it took him a few seconds to realize why.

"I think I'll be ok," Was his response.

Internally, he was reeling that he had forgotten all about Sirius' death. Who forgets something like that? He had to be more careful. He didn't want to let on that there was something eating away at his insides.

Inside the burrow, everyone was solemn. Hermione hugged Harry, as did Ginny, and even Ron. As Harry was passed around the room for hugs and more condolences, his hope that the itch would leave upon his arrival fizzled out. It was still there. Furious and unreachable as ever.

As he lay in bed, chatting quietly to Ron, he felt the itch begin to noticeably intensify. He felt his throat begin to close and his whole body start to shake with the force of it. Ron continued to speak, oblivious.

Harry's skin was on fire. The sensation was all at once pleasurable and painful. He had one hand clasped over his mouth and the other grasping his hair as if he was holding on for dear life. He then felt what he could only describe as an explosion in his solar plexus. It stopped, just as Harry thought he could take no more without shouting out.

By the end of it, Ron was still talking. To Harry, it felt as if it had lasted hours.

The next morning, it was easy to play it down. 'It wasn't as intense as I remember,' he thought to himself.

'And in no way, did it feel good.'He mentally added.

As Harry sat at the breakfast table, he found himself almost grateful for Sirius' death. If not for that, then they would have to pin his odd, silent behavior on something else.

For the second time in two days, The Boy Who Lived felt utterly ashamed of himself.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, owls swooped in all over the kitchen. Their Hogwarts letters had arrived. It was quietly decided that they would leave for Diagon Alley after breakfast.

When they arrived Harry felt a burning desire to break off from his friends and explore Knockturn Alley.

It was a decidedly bad idea, but it was there, and driving the itch crazy. And by proxy, him.

He headed to Gringotts, deciding to keep at least Ron at his side at all times, lest he be tempted to wander off somewhere he wasn't supposed to go.

Harry followed Ron aimlessly around the alley. Though he knew he should be getting his school things, he didn't trust himself and Ron didn't seem in any hurry. They ended up in Magical Menageries, as Ron had decided, on a whim that he was ready for a new pet. After Scabbers, Harry thought that no one should ever be ready for a new pet. But he didn't judge.

Harry quickly got bored and ended up staring into a tarantula tank.

_"It's in you_,_"_ Harry spun at the familiar sound of a snake talking.

He spun to find the small snake in a tank under a sign that read;

'Caution, highly venomous.'

_"Huh? What's in me?"_He whispered back.

_"Get me out of here, and I'll tell you what I know." _It hissed back.

Harry then decided that the cage was rather small. No wonder it wanted out. But he could hardly have a snake as a pet. They were decidedly dark animals. Not something that he should have. But all the same, it could know something about the growing itch in his gut. And it was cruel to leave it in such a cramped cage. Right?

"Fine."He told it. He quickly called over an assistant.

"I'll take this," He said hurriedly, pulling out the required money, and picking up some owl treats as an afterthought.

"Of course, sir. I'll get the handling gloves." She made to leave but Harry stopped her.

"Its fine," he told her, sticking his hand in the tank. The assistant looked horrified.

"Sir! That's a very dangerous snake!" He shushed her.

_"Don't make yourself known, Snake."_

He hissed, and the snake slithered up his wrist, becoming some sort of morbid bracelet. The assistant blanched. She didn't comment though.

As Harry neared the counter, he noticed that Ron had bought another rat, and Harry nearly scoffed at him. Harry fought down the urge with worry. He had never felt the urge to scoff at anyone, least of all Ron. Ron finished paying and upon seeing the owl treats, told Harry that he would wait outside.

Harry took advantage of his absence, asking the assistant for all the accessories he needed for the snake to be shrunken and added to his purchase. As he left, he sighed with relief. He'd managed to get the snake and everything it needed, while going completely unnoticed by Ron.

Though he was the dark haired boy's best friend, Harry couldn't deny the ginger was the dumbest person he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. Once again, he squashed the unwelcome thought down, only to have it rise right back up again as he realized that Ron was nowhere to be seen.

His resolve to not visit Knockturn Alley only held up for three minutes without Ron to distract him. He cursed under his breath as his body led him, seemingly without assistance on his behalf, toward the infamous alley.

As soon as he set foot in the alley, he let out an appreciative sigh as the itch slowly ebbed away, replaced by a pleasurable burn, like sitting by the fire in winter. His feet no longer led him with such desperate speed, and seemed to let him have the reins back. His willpower officially shattered, he wandered down deeper into the alley, ignoring its patrons. He slipped into an obscure book store that seemed to make his insides sing. He set straight to browsing, barely registering that the titles were decidedly evil.

He quickly zoned into the books, not noticing the store owner until the last moment.

"May I be of assistance?" Harry nearly leaped out of his skin. He turned to face the old wizard.

"Oh, no thank you, just browsing." The wizard just stared at him blankly.

"Harry Potter," He said simply.

"What on earth be bringing you here? Gonna fight fire with fire?" The Wizard smirked at him then.

Harry decided it was a bad idea to have come here. He hadn't even considered being recognized, but now that he was here, he couldn't believe how stupid he was. This place was crawling with Death Eaters. He might as well of jumped from the astronomy tower, if he was that keen to end himself.

"Uh, no, erm. Well it was nice meeting you," He started to leave.

"Aw, don't be like that boy, I aint gonna sell you out, I aint on no side. I were jus' being curious."

Harry slowly turned back to face the man. The itch had started in his belly again at the thought of leaving with nothing.

"I, I don't really know sir." Harry answered truthfully. The man nodded as if it were a perfectly acceptable answer.

"Well by all means, lad. Look around. Let me know when you found somthin'." He said it confidently, as if he knew Harry would buy something.

After a short time, Harry's attention was caught by a book in a glass case, with the word 'Parselmagic' on it. When Harry had first glimpsed it, it was little more than scribble. Then all of the sudden, Harry could read it. Harry knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was the book he was leaving with.

"Excuse me," he called to the man, who seemed to be taking inventory behind the counter.

"Yea, boy? Found somthin' you fancy?" He asked, heading toward his customer.

"Yeah, this." Harry said gesturing to the cabinet. The man whistled under his breath.

"That be a rare book, boy. Very costly. Not even in English, that one." He looked at Harry as if he weren't all there.

"Oh, I know, sir. I have enough money, if that's what you're asking." Harry told him.

"Well, if you don't mind at all, I be wantin' to see yer money." Harry sighed and pulled his money bag out of his robe pocket. He opened it to let the man glimpse his money and then quickly shoved it back where it came from.

"If that's all?" Harry was getting impatient. His friends would be missing him by now, surely. And he wanted that book, oh so badly.

"Yes my lad, that be plenty enough." He grinned toothily.

After finally getting out of the store and back into Diagon Alley, the itch didn't return. Harry felt himself hoping that it would never come back, and that that would be the last trip he would take down Knockturn. A small part of him knew it wouldn't be, if he didn't stop whatever was happening to him.

He quickly withdrew more money from Gringotts, feeling oddly dirty after going to the alley. He felt as if someone might smell it on him.

He headed toward Diagon's bookstore, relived to be in a place he was allowed to be, and feeling strangely exhilarated for getting away with it. He quickly purchased his books, looking around for Hermione, hoping she and Ginny were headed this way. He needed a level head. A distraction. He really needed to stop doing things that he knew was wrong.

He considered telling Hermione. If anyone could figure out what was happening, it was her. He then dismissed the idea quickly. So far, his shame was still winning over his desire to find a quick solution. And besides, why did he always have to rely on Hermione to solve all his problems? He could figure it out for himself, for once.

He felt it was a flimsy excuse, but it was still an excuse. And until it wasn't, this was his problem, and his problem alone.

He headed to get his robes, after waiting a few minutes for Hermione and Ginny. They didn't show and he decided to just leave, waiting be damned.

He browsed the clothes store, getting half lost among the many shelves. He didn't realize he had a visitor until a voice made him jump.

"Thinking about putting a bit of effort into your clothing this year, Potter? That would be a first." That was the second time that someone had snuck up on him that day. He really needed to pay more attention to his surroundings.

"Take off, Malfoy." Harry said disinterestedly.

"Why don't you grow a pair and make me, Potter?" Harry was still browsing robes. He sighed.

"Seriously, get a life." He heard Malfoy scoff behind him.

"My life is much better than yours, Potter. You'll do well to know it." Harry was beginning to get annoyed.

"Can you stop saying my name? Anyone would think you have a crush." Harry remarked.

The blonde spluttered.

"You watch your back, Potter!" He all but yelped, before disappearing.

The fact that he said it again wasn't lost on Harry. He laughed to himself. This year was going to be interesting, for sure.

After finally finding Ron, they settled into Fortescue's, where they were supposed to meet Hermione and Ginny in half an hour.

While picking his flavor Harry found himself oddly wanting blood flavor. He almost had to smack himself to stop looking. He got chocolate instead.

What the hell was wrong with him? Who ate blood flavored ice cream? That was disgusting. And very unlike him, to say the least.

They sat outside the store, eating their ice-cream and watching the people. Harry spotted Hermione and Ginny coming toward them.

Internally, Harry was so very glad the day was nearly over. He was so ready to sleep. Resisting himself earlier seemed to take a lot out of him.

"So where did you take off to before? I looked everywhere for you." Ron finally asked.

"I could ask the same thing, Ron." Harry said. It came out harsher than he wanted it to, but he couldn't help blaming his friend for his lapse. If Ron hadn't left, he wouldn't have gone down that alley. He knew it wasn't logical, but the blame needed to fall somewhere, and he was sick of putting it on himself. Ron looked affronted.

"You mustn't have looked that hard. I was across from the Magical Menagerie, getting some sweets." Harry nodded, floundered.

He needed to think of a place that Ron wouldn't go, but wasn't practically illegal.

"I was at the potions ingredients store." Harry finally decided.

"We don't take potions this year, mate." Ron looked bewildered. Thankfully, Hermione and Ginny reached them then. They dropped the conversation.

Back at the burrow, Ron challenged Harry to a game of wizard's chess. Harry had accepted begrudgingly, wanting nothing but to go to sleep, but not wanting to bring attention to how oddly exhausted he was.

Sitting across from Ron as he set up the board, Harry let his mind wander off. For the third time in just two days it went back to torturing Bellatrix. Again it sent a shiver down his spine. It was getting more and more pleasant to think about.

Again, he got to wondering what was going on. Maybe when he was casting Crucio, another Death Eater threw a curse at him? He definitely remembered feeling very strange. It was a possibility. Hell, at the moment, it was the only possibility.

Harry tried to force himself to remember further than the curse and Bellatrix's screams. It was proving difficult. He vaguely remembered that Dumbledore had been there, at the end. Harry had fainted then. He tried to remember the sensation that he felt when he cast the curse, but everything was so fuzzy.

All he knew, was that it had felt better than anything else he had ever felt. That in itself was worrying. He resolved that when he got to Hogwarts, he would raid the library for any type of curse that would cause a normal wizard to suddenly crave the darker side of magic. It sounded to him like the perfect weapon really.

Turn the Chosen One to dark magic? That would be one way to win the war.

"Harry?" He jerked his head up and saw Ron, who looked a little bewildered.

"Yeah?" Harry was suddenly worried he had started chanting in parseltongue or something.

"You won." Harry had never won a game of chess, especially while not even paying attention.

No wonder Ron was shocked. Harry didn't even remember saying checkmate.

"Wow, that's never happened before." Harry stated the obvious.

"Yeah," Ron seemed a little deflated, and Harry couldn't help but feel angry at him for it. All the years he'd been friends with Ron, he'd always won at chess. And Harry had always lost graciously while Ron whooped around the room like some sort of champion. Harry had merely smiled and told him 'congratulations.' So now, when Harry had won his first game of chess ever, Ron sat there sulking. It made him angry. Like so much did these days.

"Don't be too happy for me, Ron." Harry all but snarled.

"Whatever, mate. Probably fluked it. We all know I'm the best at chess." Harry clamped his nails into his leg so hard he swore he drew blood. He needed to calm down. If he stood up and cursed his best mate, the others were sure to know that there was something up with Harry. They would probably pin it on Sirius' death, but he didn't need the unwanted attention.

"Sorry, Ron." He gritted out. He had the distinct impression that he wasn't the one who should be apologizing. But there it was.

"It's alright mate." Harry heard the bite under his tone, and once again, had to restrain himself.

He ended up in Ron's room, having had to leave. He was dangerously close to maiming his best mate.

His mind seemed to cringe at the title 'best mate,' and Harry sighed. He needed to fix himself.

With that thought in mind, he addressed the snake still on his wrist.

"You can come out now."Harry hissed as quietly as he could.

"Massster."The snake seemed to smile. Harry wanted to cut right to the chase.

"You said something was in me."The snake nodded.

"What is it?"He prompted.

"The Darknessss."the snake hissed back, almost reverently. And you had to be worried when a snake said something reverently.

"How do I get rid of it?"The snake seemed offended.

"Why would you want to do that?"The snake's tone was appalled.

"Because, I'm supposed to save the world."He didn't really want to have this conversation with a snake.

"The Darknesssss could be a great help to you,"

He was suddenly reminded of Adam and Eve, and how Eve was convinced by the snake to eat the forbidden fruit. And Harry wasn't going to fall for it. He was going to tell the snake that he was never going to give in to the Darkness.

Instead, he said;

"How?"The snake seemed like it had won the lottery.

"With the Darknessss comesss a great capacity for learning. If you are willing, you can pick up any magical art with eassse."Now that did sound handy. The itch that was slowly returning in his gut seemed to squirm with anticipation.

"But you need to keep it fed, of courssse."the snake added.

"Of course,"Harry said absently. Then, he realized exactly what had been said.

"What? Fed? Fed what?"The itch squirmed, and he felt as if he had entered some contract just by saying 'of course,' but that was nonsense, right?

"Sssimply by performing a little dark ssspell every now and then. Not that big a problem, I sssuspect."Harry frowned. He was torn. If the snake was right, then he could learn as much as he could, as fast as he could, and they would have a fighting chance in this war. But he would have to perform dark magic. He decided in an instant that it was worth it. A few dark spells that would never hit anyone for the sake of the wizarding world? He would be selfish to refuse.

"That sounds fair,"He stated evenly, though his heart was racing a mile a minute.

As soon as the words crossed his lips, the itch exploded into a full blown fire, as if rejoicing. Harry gasped and doubled over. He really wished that it would stop doing that at random times, it was frustrating. And a little worrying.

"Are you well, Massster?"The snake didn't seem that worried, though.

"First thing's first, snake. Stop calling me master, its weird. Second, why does that keep happening?"He asked.

"I have a theory, Massster."It said, seemingly ignoring his request.

"I believe the Darknesss isss trying to communicate with you."Harry reeled. Communicate? It could do that?

"But I think you are ressissting."Harry was going to keep on resisting. There was no way he was going to talk to this Darkness thing, he was going to use it, then get rid of it.

"It is likely to keep happening, massster."Harry told the snake to hide in a small nook in the wall in Ron's room. He would feed it when necessary, and collect it when he left to go to Hogwarts.

To be fully honest, he really wanted to leave it there. Though leaving a highly venomous snake behind at the burrow was a good way to get them killed. He would have to take it. Because for some reason, he couldn't kill it.

He didn't even know what type of snake it was, really. Just that it was poisonous. It might even come in handy. Though it seemed to have an agenda. But Harry had always been paranoid.

The next two weeks were as uneventful as Harry could possibly make them. He had only nearly lost it once more since the chess incident. He'd gotten angry at Ginny, strangely. She kept pushing Harry to talk about Sirius' death. It had made Harry mad, because as of yet, he had hardly felt anything. It wasn't really Ginny's fault. He was more upset with himself.

He had one other conversation with the snake, and he learned it was a Fertura snake, and that their venom, to date, had no antivenom or cure. Once bitten, you could be in your death throes for up to a week, feeling nothing but white hot agony and slowly losing your mind.

If he had known that when he got the damn thing, he would have thrown it straight back in the tank, information be damned. Though it was too late now.

OoOoO

The morning they were to leave for Hogwarts, Harry was laying on the floor of Ron's room, holding his middle and rocking side to side.

"Dammit," he hissed under his breath. The strange pleasure-pain was back again. It had happened more and more frequently in the last two weeks, and Harry was willing to bet that it was 'hungry'. He just couldn't risk casting a dark spell here. There were three aurors in the house as it was. One of them was Moody. And he didn't know the extent of his ability to sense dark magic.

Harry was frankly surprised that he hadn't picked anything up so far. Harry was glad for it. He really didn't want to talk about his growing Darkness. Or his newly forming plan. And how he wished it would work out. This was his secret weapon. It was volatile, sure. But it was potentially the decider of this war.

When the feeling passed, Harry stumbled to his feet. Ron walked in then, and Harry thanked his luck that it didn't happen while he was writhing on the floor.

"You alright, mate? You look a bit flustered." Harry realized he was panting a little.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Just a bit tired." Ron frowned but didn't comment.

"You all packed? We're leaving for the station in a half hour." Harry was grateful that Ron hadn't pressed him further. His excuse was flimsy at best. He found himself feeling quite fond of the red head just then.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't realize we were leaving so soon. But I'm all packed." Harry found it hard to keep a straight face when Ron had said they had half an hour left. When Harry had left everyone to tide over the Darkness, they had an hour and a half left.

Harry had been in pleasurable agony for an hour. That was new. Harry almost couldn't be bothered being worried any more.

When Ron left, Harry let the little snake crawl out of its space and onto his wrist. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't feel a little bit safer with a deadly snake at his disposal.

But he would never admit it out loud.

When he got to the station with the Weasleys and Hermione, he felt his hope that the Darkness would fade when he got to Hogwarts again. But he knew better now. It wasn't just a feeling, it was another entity, growing in him. The thought made him sick. Though the itch in his gut responded to the thought with what felt to Harry like a smile.

Again, he was worried. It was now showing primitive emotion. And in Harry's opinion, any advancement was a bad one when it came to the Darkness.

As soon as Harry boarded the train, he felt the familiar burning in his gut intensify. Harry barely contained his shock. It had barely been a half hour.

He spouted something vague to his friends and got away as quickly as he could. He closed himself in an empty compartment and cast silencing and locking charms. He promptly fell to his knees and yelped.

This time around, it felt stronger. And if he focused hard enough, he could fell its hunger. He'd never felt what it felt before. It was more pain than pleasure this time, and he got the impression he was being punished.

"You're real hungry, huh?" Harry rasped out.

'Yes' Harry was by no means expecting a response.

This was bad. Very very bad. He was supposed to keep it contained.

"I'll do it. I'll do it now, just stop." Harry was at the end of his tether. There was nothing nice about this episode. It was only getting worse, and he was only about ten minutes into it.

If the last bout was anything to go by, he would be in agony for a while.

The pain quickly stopped then and Harry was grateful for it. Even though he now had to cast a dark spell. He quickly realized that the only dark spells he knew were Unforgivables. And he was sure the train would have an alarm for that type of thing.

"Any requests? I'm not exactly a hardened criminal." Harry's voice was gravelly.

'Liquida tenebris… No…Wand.' It's voice was small and weak. And Harry didn't want it to get any stronger. He had to stop it getting through. But now wasn't the time.

"Don't use my wand?" He repeated.

'No…Can trace…Don't.' From what Harry could gather, it meant the Ministry could trace what his wand did. But he wasn't going to ask. It didn't need to talk any more than necessary, lest it grow stronger.

Harry raised his hand warily and braced himself. He had no idea what the spell did, but he guessed it wasn't going to spawn rainbows. On top of that, Harry had never done wandless magic before. But if his snake was right, he was supposed to pick up magic like a sponge now.

Harry had to admit, not needing a wand would come in very handy. Just that one thing almost made it all worth it. He took a deep breath and whispered the incantation.

"Liquida tenebris." What looked like tar poured from his palm, then seemed to crawl up his leg then continuing up his body, eventually covering half his face.

He was officially freaking out, at this point. But the Darkness wouldn't intentionally hurt its host, right? And so far, it just felt warm. And kind of comforting. It seemed to be seeping into him as fast as it was coming out. The warmth grew until he was mewling with pleasure. It was like getting a massage in front of a fire while laying on silk. Only better. Before Harry knew it, it stopped.

"Neh?" He asked intelligently.

'That is enough. Thank you.' It wasn't lost on Harry that it sounded stronger now. And that he had just cast another dark spell and enjoyed it.

He couldn't quite bring himself to care.


	2. welcome home, martyr

**Welcome Home, Martyr.**

After finding his friends and giving them an excuse about running into Malfoy, he settled in for the rest of the ride back to Hogwarts.

He noticed that Ginny still wasn't talking to him. At that moment, he didn't much care. He was enjoying the pleasant burn in his middle. When he thought about the itch that was in its place, he couldn't stand the thought of it.

After feeling what he felt back in that compartment, the itch sounded like hell to go back too.

But he wasn't going to give up just yet. He had to withstand it. For the people he was sharing a compartment with, at least. At most, his whole world.

When he could finally see the castle in the distance, he didn't feel his usual nostalgia. He didn't feel much of anything, really. Just the after-burn of his previous foray into the dark side.

He squirmed at the memory. He was uncomfortable with just how much he liked it.

He left the others to change into his school robes, and on the way back, he actually did see Malfoy.

"Oi, Potter, you excited about another year with yours truly?" Malfoy sneered.

"You say it like you want me to say 'yes,' Malfoy." Harry stated calmly.

Malfoy's face fell and he stammered a few times before storming off. Harry grinned. It seemed he'd found the blonde's weak spot. That would make his year just a bit easier. And he needed it to be as easy as he could get it, if he was going to nurture his Darkness just enough to get the upper hand in the war.

He was really hoping to get the balance just right. Because he really didn't want to be at the mercy of his Darkness. There would be nothing he would hate more than to become anything like Voldemort.

When he got off the train, he lost his friends in the crowd. Not that he minded that much, Hermione was getting on his nerves more than usual. Watching her and Ron bicker about senseless things was doing nothing to calm him.

He ended up in a carriage with Luna and a fourth year Hufflepuff.

"There's something different about you Harry." Luna smiled dreamily at him.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Oh?" He tried for ignorance.

"Mm. It's not entirely a bad thing Harry. You shouldn't be so prejudiced." She smiled wider.

There was no possible way that she could know. Was there?

"I don't think I know what you mean Luna." Harry had to force himself not to grit his teeth.

"Oh, Harry, you do. And you might learn a few things about the people closest to you, if you let yourself go, just a little." Harry was almost glaring. If he hadn't fed the Darkness on the train, he might have accidently lost his cool.

He didn't say anything back. He just stared stonily out the window. The Hufflepuff looked confused and more than a little curious. That made him angrier. If Luna knew, which he was sure she did, couldn't she pick a more private place to say something?

Harry made a note to talk to her later. He needed to make sure she wouldn't breathe a word of this to anyone. He wanted to know how she knew, as well.

Once the carriage reached its destination, he wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep for eternity. The dark haired boy was tired of the confusion and fear. And having no one to talk to about it. It was gnawing at him, quite literally, and he couldn't breathe a word of it, especially to his friends. They would never trust him again. And as much as they annoyed him sometimes, they were all he had.

He made another note to apologize to Ginny. She didn't deserve to be yelled at, just because she was concerned for him.

Harry sighed deeply. He already had the feeling he was in too deep. And he'd barely begun. Though for the life of him, he couldn't think of a way to stop.

OoOoO

When the sorting was finally over, and Harry was finally in his bed, Harry felt the need to talk to the Darkness. To ask it his most burning questions. But he didn't know if that was too far, if speaking to it would make it stronger.

'It would weaken me,' He heard the voice in his mind and sighed.

Casting a silencing charm around his bed, he asked:

"How am I supposed to believe you? You're nothing but Darkness. Pure evil." Harry whispered back.

'Not all things are quite so cut and dry. I fight for my cause, just as you do. And I believe my cause is just. Just as you do. I wouldn't really consider myself pure evil, either. Besides all of that, I simply cannot lie to you. You are my vessel.' Harry didn't know what it meant by 'vessel,' or why that meant it couldn't lie to him.

"Right. Sorry, that just doesn't make sense to me." Harry replied.

'Just as you being willing to die for a useless cause doesn't make sense to me.'Harry frowned. He wasn't really willing to die, when it came down to it. He wanted to live to see the fruit of his labor.

"Either way, I don't trust you." He told it.

'I would think you stupid if you did, Boy. I will answer your questions as best I can, though.' Its voice was getting quieter and Harry had to concentrate harder to hear.

"What are you? Really?" That was his most pressing question. He knew what it was called, sure. But not what it was.

'I can tell you that I have been with you for a very large portion of your life...you brought me...forward when you…cast…first…dark…' the voice faded in and out and it was frustrating Harry. He needed to know more.

'Need more…if…you want…to hear…give...'Harry knew what it wanted, and to his shame, he felt a burning need in him that he knew didn't all belong to the Darkness.

He raised his palm, still laying down, and placed it on his chest this time. He wanted it closer than before.

"Liquida tenebris." He whispered, waiting for the heat to spread along his body. He sighed with relief.

It was better than he remembered, and Harry felt a wide grin spread across his face. He felt almost feral. He held for longer this time, holding the spell till he could barely stand it. For the life of him, he couldn't find the willpower to stop. The spell cut off, just as Harry felt he was about to reach something monumental, and he growled angrily.

'Too much of a good thing, Boy.'The voice was strong and clear, he could almost hear it outside of himself. For some reason that made Harry incredibly happy.

He squashed it down. He really needed to get control of this, if he wanted to save his friends. If he wanted to save anyone, really, because as it was going, he was likely to be the one people needed saving from.

"You were saying?" Harry was panting, and still wanted nothing more than to complete whatever it was he was doing with that spell. But he needed to level his head. What he really needed was for the Darkness to say something unforgivable. Something so vile that Harry couldn't possibly enjoy it growing in him. But so far, it hadn't happened.

'Give yourself a chance to recover. We got carried away. That shouldn't happen again. It's not a good thing. Not yet, even though it feels that way.'Harry couldn't help but agree.

"Ok, that I can believe." The Darkness laughed. And it kind of shocked him. He'd always thought that evil things only laughed, well, evilly, for lack of a better word. He never thought that they laughed in good humor. It was surreal.

After calming down to the point he was nearly asleep, the Darkness spoke again.

'You awoke me with the first dark spell you cast,' It seemed to be whispering, as if trying to keep him on the verge of sleep. So it wasn't a spell cast on him at the ministry.

'And to be fully honest, I never expected you ever would cast one. I was resigned to only watching. Weak, in the background. Imagine my shock when you cast Crucio, of all things.' Harry smiled sleepily.

"Was just as shocked as you," Harry whispered.

"Do you have a name? Kinda bored with calling you Darkness." Harry was almost incoherent.

'Not that I can tell you.' Harry opened his eyes.

"'Not that you can tell me?' Why can't you tell me?" Harry frowned.

'I simply can't speak the word. I'm not able.'Why would it not be able to speak its own name?

He filed it away for later.

"I'll name you then." Harry told it.

"Wait, are you a guy or a girl?" Harry was curious. If he had to guess, he would say the Darkness was a man. But he was only guessing.

'I suppose you could say I'm male. And go ahead; I'm curious as to what you choose. And please, nothing stereotypical. For our sanity.'Harry laughed.

"Did you just crack a funny in there, Darkness?" He smiled.

'I guess I did.' Harry grinned wider.

"Nothing stereotypical, huh? So not Shadow, then?" Harry asked.

'Please have mercy,' Harry snorted loudly, and was thankful for his silencing charm.

"Frank?" He felt the Darkness cringe.

'Some taste would be appreciated.' Harry laughed again.

"Hmm, what about Adrian?" He tried to gauge the Darkness' reaction, but couldn't feel much.

'I suppose that would be acceptable.' Harry grinned. And as he closed his eyes, he realized the absurdity and sheer wrongness of what had just happened.

The next morning, Harry went with denial, and called it a dream. There was no way he had a conversation with the Darkness, and there was no way he liked it. He had imagined it all, because he simply couldn't face the truth.

McGonagall had approached him later in the day and told him and Ron that they were in fact attending potions this year, because Professor Slughorn, the new potions master, was willing to take them. Harry couldn't say he was all that pleased to have another class on his workload. He needed as little distraction as possible.

He didn't even have his books. He was frowning all the way to potions.

Harry and Ron took a seat together at the back of the class. As soon as Harry opened the potions book he got from the cupboard, he noticed that someone had written all over it.

'That's interesting.' Harry flinched at the sound of his Darkness. It sounded as strong as it did last night.

Harry didn't say anything. How could he? He was in a room full of people.

'Flip to the back. See if there's a name.' Harry complied begrudgingly.

The Half Blood Prince. That wasn't helpful at all.

'That isn't helpful at all.'Harry cringed. He hadn't quite figured out yet if it could hear what he was thinking. Harry hoped it couldn't. It was just another problem. Harry set to ask it later.

"...Whoever can brew an acceptable Draught of Living Death can take this bottle of Felix Felicius."

Harry scolded himself for not listening. What was Felix Felicius?

'It's a luck potion. Pretty potent, actually. You should try your hardest to get it. It would come in very handy.' It was getting very obvious that it could hear his thoughts.

'I can. I apologize for not telling you sooner.' Harry dropped his head into his hands. Just what he needed. An evil entity in his head that could read his mind.

'Not that I really mind, but what happened to 'Adrian'?'Harry tried his hardest to stop thinking then.

After following the scribbles in the book to a tee, Harry wound up winning the Felix Felicius.

'It looks as if that book is a valuable commodity as well.'Harry didn't comment.

Hermione was all frazzled about Harry winning the potion, and showed it openly. Which, in turn, made Harry angry. Why did no one think he could be smart around here? Granted, it was the book, but none of them knew that. To them, it seemed that he had finally grown a brain. And they all hated it.

Harry ended up in the astronomy tower, alone and relieved. And still angry at Hermione. Though it was fading quickly.

"So, when did you turn up in my head?" Harry asked it aloud, because he felt better at this point pretending that it couldn't hear his thoughts. For his own sanity.

'I can't say. I'm sorry.' Harry sighed. It seemed that it couldn't talk about anything important.

"What can you tell me?" Harry asked, sighing.

'I can tell you how to get rid of me. Because I know you want to know.' The voice was getting quieter again and Harry got frustrated. It only seemed to happen when he needed to know what it was about to say. He wondered if it did it on purpose.

"How?" He asked anyway, though he knew the voice was fading fast, and what he had to do to get it to keep talking.

'Need…to…sorry… need to... Damn it...' To Harry, it seemed as if the voice was frustrated. That didn't seem right, though. Why would the voice be angry about not being able to talk? It meant that Harry was about to cast a dark spell.

Harry sighed and put his palm on his chest.

He cast the spell just as the voice shouted;

'No!' the spell hit him intensely, and it seemed like it had taken off from where he left it. But it kept building.

And the odd feeling that he was reaching something massive was gone. Harry was squirming on the ground for what felt like a year, but he definitely not complaining. It had never felt better. And he found himself wondering vaguely if it would just keep building until he lost his mind from the pleasure, or if it would reach some kind of a plateau.

The spell stopped just as Harry had the same feeling of reaching something huge.

'That was stupid, Harry.' He could definitely hear it outside of himself now. And it worried him.

But strangely it wasn't the fact that it was getting stronger that worried him, it was the fact that someone else might hear it.

"Why?" His voice was shaky and his whole body twitched spasmodically as he lay on the floor.

'I was trying to warn you that someone was watching. Not only did they see you talking to yourself, they saw you cast a decidedly dark spell and writhe about on the floor, moaning.'

"I was moaning?" Then,

"Oh, shit. Who was it?" Harry was panicking

'I don't know. I merely sensed a presence. But it would be prudent to find out as soon as possible.'

Harry had to agree. He got to his feet, wobbling. He braced himself against the far wall, and took the stairs as fast as he could, hoping to catch them, but doubting he'd be able to. He'd been laying on the floor for a quite a while, and the person had plenty of time to get away.

Imagine his surprise when he found someone on the other side of the door, casually examining his finger nails.

"Fancy seeing you here, Potter." Malfoy looked up and smirked.

Harry's legs chose the most inappropriate moment to give out from under him. He grasped the door and cursed.

"You. How long have you been here?" Harry rasped.

"Oh, me? Quite a while, actually. Thought I might go for a stroll to the astronomy tower. Imagine my surprise when I realized you were already here. Talking to yourself. Casting a bit of black magic. Jizzing yourself on the floor. You put on quite a show, Potter." Malfoy smirked.

Harry growled and lurched forward, grabbing Malfoy by the collar and pressing him against the wall.

"You ever breathe a word of what you saw to anyone, and I'll gut you like a fish, you understand?" Harry was growling.

"Calm yourself, Potter. You're lucky it was me who saw you, to be honest. Anyone else would run straight to Dumbledore and you know it." Harry saw a glint of fear in Malfoy's eyes, but the blonde quickly covered it.

Harry let go and took a deep breath.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"No problem. I'm intrigued. I can't wait to see how this will play out. And for the sake of my entertainment, how about you use the Room of Requirement next time you go casting dark magic?" Harry frowned.

"You know about the Room?" Harry was a little shocked.

"I know quite a lot about a lot of things, Potter. In fact, if you ever need any help with your little side project, I'd be happy to lend what I know. For my own benefit, obviously."

"Obviously," Harry mumbled, not really paying all that much attention. He'd just threatened Malfoy's life, and he was offering him help. With black magic.

It was surreal. Not to mention the fact that this was as close as they had ever come to a civil conversation.

Later in the evening, Harry retreated to bed early, ignoring Hermione's argument that he had Transfiguration homework.

He wasn't in the mood for homework. What he wanted was quiet. It was odd that lately he couldn't stand his best friend's company. He scolded himself for never making any other friends. He had acquaintances, sure. But no other real friends to speak of.

He sighed and crawled into his four poster bed, and just as he got comfy he jumped at the sensation of someone breathing in his ear.

He spun to look behind him and saw nothing.

Harry sighed in resignation. Whatever, he was hardly surprised anymore. He cast silencing charms and sticking charms on the curtain. He tried it wandlessly, and it worked.

"You were saying something earlier. About, you know, how to get rid of you?" He felt it sigh. Its 'breath' made him shiver. Not entirely unpleasantly either. He scolded himself. Whatever it told him now, he decided he had to do it. It was all going too far.

'You need to die.' It said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.

He couldn't just go and DIE, it was preposterous.

"You're lying. There must be another way." Harry wasn't about to believe it.

'To be frank with you, Boy, I'm not so sure why you are so set on being rid of me. We haven't gone off and murdered anyone yet, have we?' Harry scowled.

"You just said 'yet'. That's why you need to be gone." The Darkness scoffed.

'I just told you how. It's the only way. I can't lie to you. I've told you that before.' Harry sensed that it was irritated.

"How is you telling me something twice supposed to be reassuring?" Harry spat.

"You're freaking evil! I'm not! There's no way that we can get along. No way that I could ever trust something as vile as you." He felt its anger rising, but when it spoke its voice was calm.

'I remember differently. Remember naming me? You can be in denial all you like, kid, but you and I are the same. And I wouldn't be so quick to call yourself 'normal' because I know the truth.' If Harry had to give the Darkness an expression, it would have been a sneer.

"Ha! You're for sure lying now. I know for a fact I'm not a dark wizard." But something in his gut made him feel like he was the one that was lying. He pushed it down and blamed it on the Darkness. The Darkness let out a sharp laugh that made Harry flinch.

'You really believe that? You wouldn't even have been able to cast that Crucio curse if not for your inner darkness. Your own inner darkness, to be specific. It had nothing to do with me, I was completely powerless inside you. And you KNOW it too. You're just too weak to admit it to yourself. And that pleasure you feel, when you cast dark magic? That pleasure is reserved for the blackest of souls. Have you ever felt inadequate? When casting all those Ministry-approved spells? Don't say you haven't because I know you have. I was THERE. You thought you were stupid, unable. But you are a dark wizard, and you need to admit it. If only to yourself.'Harry ended the argument there. He didn't want to hear anymore.

All he wanted was the Darkness out of his head. He decided to talk to the snake again. He undid the sticking charms, and reached into his bedside table. He pulled the small snake out. He had disillusioned it to look like a quill to everyone else. He just hoped that no one needed a quill from him. It was the most inconspicuous thing he could think of.

"_When I asked you how to get rid of it, you didn't answer_." Harry cut straight to the chase.

"_Becaussse I don't know, Masster. I am but a child among my kind. They wouldn't ssshare information like that with me." _Harryfrowned. He couldn't trust anything it said. But then again, who else was he supposed to ask?

"_You're a child_?" The good news just kept on coming.

"_Yess, Masster. My growth dependsss on your magical core. I can grow up to forty feet, but that has not happened in many ceturiesss_."

'Fantastic.' Harry thought bitterly.

"_How fast do you grow?_" Harry had to ask.

"_Asss fassst asss your magical core, Massster. Generally, my kind are given to a young child, asss their magic isss firssst coming in. But the amount of worthy people hasss greatly decreased_." Harry sighed.

"_What exactly does that mean?_" He wasn't sure he really wanted the answer.

"_Thossse who ssspeak the tongue, and have a dark magical core, Massster. Thessse daysss, we are kept asss decoration and never bond to a wizard_." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.

"_I don't have a dark magical core_," He told it. It just stared at him.

"_What do you mean, bond to a wizard_?" The snake made a hissy sigh-like noise.

"_You mussst perform a ritual before I can connect to your magical core." _Harry smiled. This was the first piece of good news in weeks. He laughed, and the snake flinched.

"_And what, you think I would do it?_" His voice was sharp and mocking.

"_No. I never expected it. But I mussst sssay, I wasss a little curiousss asss to why you bought the book if you didn't intend to bond usss_." Harry snorted.

"_You think I bought that book because of you? Ha! No. I simply bought it because I was curious. I haven't even looked at it since._" The snake seemed oddly sad then.

"I_ did entertain the idea that you sssimply didn't know._" Harry frowned.

"_Whatever. I'm over this conversation, and I'm over trying to get answers and only getting problems_." He put the snake back into the drawer, warning it about biting anyone.

He sighed and laid back into his pillows, wondering when he was going to catch a break.

He started getting curious about what was actually in that book. He was internally warring with himself, part of him not wanting to touch the thing, the other wanting nothing more.

And as it so often was these days, the curiosity won over.

He slipped out of his bed and quickly searched through his trunk. When he found the book, he quickly crawled back into his bed, recasting the sticking charm wandlessly.

He drew a deep breath in, as if he were about to dive under water.

The book had no index. On the very first page was the ritual for binding oneself to their Fetura snake.

Apparently, most of the spells in the book were so advanced they needed this to be done before hand, because the snake helped your magical core become stabilized.

He skimmed through the ritual. The first thing it called for was for him to get someone to willingly kill themselves. Harry scoffed. That was never going to happen.

He skimmed through the rest of the book, and found the three other spells that could be used without the ritual.

One was a type of occlumency, which he decided would come in very handy. He hadn't really had any one on one run ins with Dumbledore or Snape this year, but he could safely bet that they would enter his mind when he did.

The second was, not surprisingly, a type of legilimency. Harry smiled. As an added bonus, these types of magic were practically untraceable. So he could enter anyone's mind. Even Dumbledore's.

The third made him capable of performing magic without a trace. That would come in handy. It wasn't so much a spell, it was more a ritual.

He found the other spells equally, if not more, useful. He thought it was too bad that he couldn't use them. Even if he were willing to kill someone, how does one get someone to willingly kill themselves?

Not that Harry cared, of course.

He decided he would practice the mind magic first, because who knew when he would be seeing Dumbledore or Snape.

He found the magic came as naturally as breathing, and he was relieved. He didn't know what he would do if either of them saw his mind.

He decided he needed to perform the ritual as soon as possible, also. But the things he needed would take time to obtain. He fell asleep quickly then.

He didn't have to wait long for Dumbledore's first summons of the year.

McGonagall had pulled him up after her class and told him Dumbledore wanted to see him, then spouted the stupid password.

Harry sighed. Part of him was dreading seeing the man. Though for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. Harry had considered the man a father figure at one point, and he could only blame one thing for the shift in his feelings.

As he approached the gargoyle, the dread in his heart settled into a slow rhythm. Harry sighed and spoke the password.

He heard Dumbledore tell him to come in, and wondered, not for the first time, how he knew he was there.

Harry reined in his emotions once again, and had to admit that he was getting much better at it.

Though he didn't really need to, he realized as he crossed the threshold. There was some type of calming spell cast over the entire room. For a second it made him angry, but the spell gripped him tight and worked its magic. Harry wondered if the spell had always been here, or if it was being used especially for him.

Harry had never noticed it before, but his magical core hadn't ever been as strong as it was now. He decided he'd look into it later. Right now, he wanted to get into the headmaster's mind.

The spell involved some seriously complicated hand movements and an incantation, but luckily Harry could do it wordlessly. Harry smiled at the thought of him hissing at his headmaster.

That wouldn't go over well.

"Professor? You wanted to see me?" Harry took a seat across from Dumbledore and was grateful for the fact that Dumbledore couldn't see his hands.

As soon as he sat he started the complicated spellwork.

"Yes, Harry my boy. I wanted to see how you were fairing after Sirius' untimely death." Harry made a good show of letting head slump and putting a stutter to his words.

"I, I think I'll be ok, Professor." Harry has finishing the spell and was starting to scratch the surface of the man's mind, when he suddenly got nervous. The book had said that the spell was unnoticeable, but what if Dumbledore was powerful enough to feel it? How would he explain that away?

"It's just, he was never a free man, you know?" Harry was finished the spell by that point, and dived fully into the man's mind.

'Poor boy thought his godfather could be free. It never could have happened. He cannot leave his relatives until he is of age, Sirius was a hindrance.' The elderly man's thoughts filtered into Harry's mind. Harry was shocked at how opposite his thinking and his words were.

"Oh Harry. I am very sorry that I couldn't have done more. If it were up to me, he would have never been taken to prison." Harry barely restrained his anger, and he thanked the calming charm.

"And we didn't even get the prophecy. It was a waste of time. Sirius wasn't even there! I just feel so stupid." Harry said, proud that he had managed to keep the anger out of his voice. And he did feel stupid, in a way. Though he felt no sadness anymore about Sirius' death, he was much preferable to his muggle relatives.

'God damn, glad he didn't get his hands on the real prophesy. Could have lost him. Glad it was destroyed.' Harry raised an eyebrow, in spite of himself.

"It's all well and good, we know what the prophesy says, and Voldemort does not. Because of your bravery, he will never know. It wasn't all for nothing, Harry." Harry at this point was a seething puddle of anger. He was being lied to, but he didn't know why.

Now he felt even stupider for not getting that prophesy away sooner.

"Yeah, I guess so, Professor. It just felt like a waste, you know?" It was all he could do to unclench his teeth.

Dumbledore obviously mistook the bitterness in his voice for something else. After all, how could Harry have possibly gotten past his occlumency guard? He was one of the best.

"If that's all, Professor? I'm suddenly feeling tired." He needed to find out what the prophesy actually said.

"There is one more thing, my boy." Dumbledore smiled his grandfatherly smile.

"What's that, professor?" Harry suddenly felt stomach drop. He was about to get bad news, he knew it.

"The blood wards at the Dursley's home appears to have weakened. I'm not sure what has caused this, but rest assured I have many people working on it. In the meantime, though, I think that it would be prudent for you to return to Privet drive to restore the wards."

Harry's stomach dropped further, if that was possible.

"When?" He asked.

"I suppose they should hold for another three weeks, but after that, you must return."

"But what about school?" The Boy Who Lived asked, desperate for anything that would stop him from returning to the Dursley's.

"I'm afraid this is much more important. If these wards fail, there is no way to restore them. Unless someone else were to die for you." There was a twinkle in the headmaster's eye when he said that, and Harry resented him for it.

"Fine. How long do I need to stay there for?" His teeth were gritted, and he couldn't have hid his anger if he tried.

"Possibly two weeks." Harry got up and left without another word.

As soon as he left the calming charm, he was in a bigger rage than he'd ever been in. He threw his fist into the far wall, and flinched as he felt a bone break. He wandlessly healed it, and stormed off to find his friends. If Dumbledore was lying, who else was? And why were the wards all of a sudden failing? Was it a trick?

He found Hermione studying in the common room, thankfully alone. While she was facing away from him, he cast the spell as fast as he could. He slipped into her mind easily, noting the complete lack of protection. He rolled his eyes. For the smartest witch of her age, she was pretty stupid.

_'So sick of Ron! God he's such an idiot. If only I could just stop talking to him.' _Of course she would be thinking about Ron. She seemed to have a very one track mind.

He sat across from her.

'_Oh, great. Now I have to deal with this idiot. Just my luck.' _Harry frowned. What exactly did that mean?

He stopped frowning and looked her straight in the eye.

"Hey, Hermione." He couldn't keep the slight anger out of his voice. But he did pretty well, considering.

'_Oh, for god's sake. What's he so righteously angry about this time?_' Her thoughts were so bitter that he was surprised when he heard the kindness in her voice.

"Oh, hi Harry. You seem angry. What's wrong?" Harry sighed.

"Just something Dumbledore said. Its fine, don't worry." Hermione put her hand on his arm.

_'I can't believe that he's so disrespectful of Professor Dumbledore. He's only ever helped him!_'

"It'll be fine Harry. I'll always be here for you." Harry wasn't so sure.

"Really?" Harry tried to look hopeful.

'_Wish I didn't have to be. So sick of being put in danger by this idiot.'_

"Of course Harry, you know that." By this point, Harry was fuming. It was getting harder to contain.

"Hermione, how did we become friends again? Just need to be reminded of better times."

_'Hah! We've never been friends, idiot. If it weren't for Dumbledore, I never would have spoken two words to you.'_

"I was looking for Neville's toad, remember? But if you're asking why were friends, it's because you're brave. And you've saved my live more times than I can count."

'_If it weren't for you I would never have even been in danger.' _Harry could barely believe the difference between her mind and her mouth. She was an amazing liar. Just like Dumbledore.

He finished the conversation quickly after that, feeling sick to his core knowing that one of his best friends despised the ground he walked on.

He needed to figure out exactly why Dumbledore thought it a good idea to choose his friend for him. It also made him worried about Ron. What if Ron was faking it as well? Harry wasn't sure he wanted to find out just yet. Harry ended up out near the Quiddich pitch, leaning against a tree and scowling.

What exactly was Dumbledore up too? What did he even mean by 'real prophesy?' The one Harry knew was fake? But why lie about it? What was in the real prophesy that Harry couldn't know?

He set his mind on how to find the real prophesy. His thoughts went to Trelawney. Though she didn't remember giving the prophesy, it still had to be in there somewhere, though hidden. Harry wondered if his new mind reading ability could dig that deep, and he decided he probably could get that far.

He decided to go and see her as soon as he could. Harry was almost debating going now, but as he went to stand, he noticed none other than Draco Malfoy coming toward him, surprisingly alone.

Harry sighed and collapsed back onto the ground from his half standing position, and resigned himself to a verbal beating.

"Malfoy," Harry said as he got closer.

"The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Dabble-In-The-Dark-Arts," Draco said, Harry snorted.

"Do you ever find it strange that the wizarding world seems to hyphenate and capitalize everything?" Harry asked as Malfoy sat down in front of him, much to Harry's surprise.

"Never really noticed. But now that you mention it, we do overdo it a bit, don't we?" Harry nodded.

"You're also a bunch of self preserving liars." Harry added bitterly.

Malfoy mockingly looked offended before saying,

"You seem to be excluding yourself from your own kind." Harry ignored him and continued.

"You're the worst of the lot for the self preservation thing," Harry looked up at Malfoy then.

"But at least you're honest about it." Harry finished. Malfoy frowned.

"This got a whole lot heavier than I understand."Malfoy said. Harry sighed and pulled a bit of parchment and a quill from his bag. He wrote;

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies._

He passed it to Malfoy and let him read.

He watched as Malfoy's eyes grew wider and said,

"I'm not stupid Malfoy, though many seem to think it. Take that to your father; tell him to give it to Voldemort. Don't tell him it was me who gave it to you. But most importantly, tell your father that it's fake. Dumbledore faked the whole damn thing. I don't know how he got Trelawnley to spout a fake prophesy, but he did, and no one but Dumbledore knows the real prophesy." Malfoy was looking outraged by the end.

"My father isn't a Death Eater." He spat.

"Let's skip the part where we both pretend not to know what's really happening around us, Malfoy." Harry said tiredly.

"You know I know. Just do what I told you, yeah? And don't forget to mention the fake part, ok?" Harry stood and stalked off toward the castle. He wasn't entirely sure why he gave the fake prophesy to Malfoy, but something told him it was the right thing to do. If Voldemort knew the prophesy was fake, he might spend more time trying to figure out what the real one was, and less time trying to kill Harry.

And that was always a bonus.

And Voldemort might figure it out before him, if his Parsel Legillimency fell through. Meaning that someone other than Dumbledore would know the true prophesy, increasing Harry's chance of knowing it.

Not by a lot, admittedly, but it was better than nothing, even if there were risks involved. He found himself in front of the Divination class room without even realizing his feet had taken him there.

He climbed the ladder and hoped she was here, and alone. To his amazement, she was.

"Professor Trelawney," Harry greeted.

"Ahh Harry. I was expecting you." Her bug eyes bulged knowingly.

Harry fought the urge to scoff, and quickly and wordlessly cast a sleeping charm on the professor.

It would be easier for him to dig around in her mind if she weren't awake. Plus, he'd have more time. She'd wake no worse for wear, and Harry would, hopefully, have his real prophesy.

He quickly set an alarm for himself that would tell him if anyone got within 50 meters of the classroom, giving him time to wake Trelawney and get out.

Having done that, Harry quickly entered her mind and discovered that he had no idea what to do. Entering someone's thoughts and hearing what they were actively thinking was one thing, but looking for something that the person wasn't thinking about, let alone them not even knowing the memory existed, was another.

Not to mention he wasn't even sure what he was looking for, to be honest.

Just a prophesy. He decided to look for the fake prophesy first, hoping it was somehow linked with the real one. He found it well enough, which, oddly, angered him. His prophesy was easy to find, he barely had to think of it for half an hour before he thought of Trelawney. And Voldemort had to know that it was her who spoke the prophesy.

He was surprised that no one else had been here before him. She had no occlumency walls that he could sense. Even a novice could get in her head. And again, he traced it back to the Headmaster. He could only think of one reason her mind would be so accessible. Dumbledore wanted the fake prophesy to be found.

Harry viewed the memory three times before he noticed what was wrong with it. It was strangely reminiscent of the time he had had the Imperious curse cast on him.

The Headmaster had Imperioed her.

Harry was barely surprised anymore. He dug for a while before he found the thread that had to lead to the other prophesy.

The edges of the memory were torn, as if it were old. It also sounded muffled, as if he were underwater. He was struggling to hear what was being said, but he did notice that they were in Dumbledore's office.

Harry had always thought it odd that Dumbledore would hold a staff interview in a crowded pub. He knew why, now. It was because he wanted to be over heard. So far the memory just consisted of a usual interview.

"Have you ever made a true prediction?" Dumbledore at this stage seemed skeptical.

"But of course! Cassandra Trelawney is my great, great grandmother! She's very famous, you know." Dumbledore frowned.

"Yes, yes. I know who Cassandra Trelawney is. But that wasn't my question." He said.

Though Harry wasn't very fond of his headmaster, he could definitely feel his pain. Professor Trelawney was annoying at the best of times.

It went on like that for a while, until Trelawney's eyes finally glazed over. Harry didn't bother containing his sigh of relief.

"The one with the power to be the Dark Lord's right hand approaches...Born to those who thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, the boy will have the power to destroy or save our world...And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can die while the other survives…The one with the power to join the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

Harry pulled out of the memory with force, dizzying himself.

He could literally not believe what he had just seen. He practically fell down the ladder, not bothering to wake Trelawney.

Harry felt dizzy and nauseous at the same time, and had to stop and throw up.

"Well that is attractive. Bad time, Potter?" Harry snarled.

"Really, really bad time, Malfoy." He saw Malfoy shrug in the corner of his eye.

"You'll have to make it a good time, Potter. I got some questions." Harry wiped his mouth, stood and cast a wordless and wandless Scorgify.

He had to lean against the wall to stand properly.

"About what you want me to do, what am I supposed to say about where I got it?" Harry sighed.

"I don't care, Malfoy. Tell him you overheard me and the Headmaster." Malfoy nodded.

"And how do I know it's fake?" That got him thinking.

"Erm, tell him you overheard me with Hermione. Or someone." Malfoy nodded again.

"Alright then, how do I prove that all that's true? I mean, my father would have a hard time believing that I found this. Imagine the Dark Lord. He'd kill my father quicker than believing this." Harry sighed. To be honest, he hadn't thought that far.

"Damn it." Harry muttered.

"Fine, just keep it to yourself until one of us comes up with something." Malfoy agreed.

"You look like hell, Potter." Malfoy told him after a second.

"You noticed?" Harry grimaced.

"Of course, you always look like hell. Just now more than usual." Harry managed a shaky laugh.

"Yeah, well. I gotta go so, yeah. Just don't let your housemates in on that little prophesy you got there." The Slytherin nodded.

Harry made his way to the common room. He was in luck, Ron and Hermione weren't there. He went straight to his dorm room, collapsing into his bed. He then screamed into his pillow till his face went red.

He almost wished that he had never seen that. But now he knew, at least.

"Your opinion?" Harry asked suddenly, casting silencing charms.

'I thought you would never ask.'Came the quick reply. Harry snorted.

'I think that it is indeed the real prophesy. I believe she was Obliviated of the whole meeting and told that they would reschedule for the next day, or whenever the fake was planted. She was then Imperioed and made to make the fake. As for the real prophesy itself, it says, 'the boy will have the power to destroy or save our world,' but it doesn't say which choice is the wrong one, now, does it? The right path could very well be with Voldemort.'

Harry frowned.

"There's no way that the right way is with him. He's evil."

'Everyone's idea of evil is greatly varied. He may kill people, but what if he has the right idea? Being against muggles doesn't seem that bad an idea to me. What do you think would happen if they were to find us out? You were raised by them, you should know. They would do all they could to destroy your kind, and they have bombs, and guns. Things wizards don't have. And you are greatly outnumbered. And your headmaster thinks that there can be peace. There cannot. The muggles fear what they do not understand and will see you as a threat, no doubt about it.'

Harry thought on it for a second and did concede that the muggles would destroy them before they accepted them.

'And I do believe that the Dark Lord is so against muggleborns because their parents would have to know about wizards. Who's to stop the parents from telling their neighbors andfriends and family that their child just got accepted into a wizard school? No one. And no, not everyone one would believe, but what of the ones that do? Every year, more and more muggles learn of you. All the muggles need is a wizard hating person in power. Then it will all be over. The wizarding world would be totally unprepared, for the majority of them think that they are superior. They may have been once, but they aren't anymore. The wizard's total ignorance of muggles and their capabilities will be their downfall. And your Dark Lord seems to be trying to prevent that, in a twisted way.'

To Harry's dismay, he couldn't find a fault with the speech. It was entirely right.

"You're right, and you know it. But I can't join him, he killed my parents, for one thing."

'Hmm, there's another point I would like to make. Think about it. Why did he kill your parents? Because of a prophesy. Whose prophesy? Dumbledore's. Think of it this way. If you were trying to save your world, as I believe he is, and you heard of a prophesy that could bring it all down, and you had no qualms with killing, would you? To save yourself and the rest of the wizarding world? One child to save them all? All those too stupid or conceited to see the muggles as a threat. And you both should know the evil of muggles. He was raised by them too, and saw their evil. As did you. Voldemort may have raised his wand on you, and your parents, but it was by Dumbledore's manipulations that they lay dead.'

Harry knew, to some extent, that the Darkness was right. But even with all Dumbledore's manipulations, Voldemort was still in the wrong here.

But so was his headmaster. He had no one to trust. Except Ron. And he was yet to find out if he was even a friend. A part of him wanted to pretend that none of it ever happened, that his friends were still his friends, that his headmaster was still trustworthy, that the Darkness in his mind had never come to be.

But he knew pleading ignorance wasn't going to help anyone. He had to choose between a narcissistic killer and someone no better.

Again, he screamed into his pillow till his throat was raw.

The next weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend, and Harry was glad for the distraction.

Only until he got there, though. The itching desire to go down Knockturn was back within seconds. Ron had gone off with Seamus, and Hermione had gone off to the bookshop. He even considered following her in, but with recent discoveries, he decided against it.

He had discovered a secret passageway that led to Diagon Alley in his second year, while exploring with Ron. It seemed as if the entire passageway was a portkey. He quickly found himself walking down that alley.

He did end up fighting it, for a little while, by going to Fortescues, but the odd want for blood ice cream was back as well it seemed.

He left in a hurry, wandering straight into Knockturn.

He did realize that it took him much less time to give in, but he filed the thought away for later. He went straight to the store he first went to, feeling safer there than anywhere else.

He balked when he nearly ran straight into Malfoy.

"Ha. Imagine seeing you here, Potter. No, scratch that, it's not that surprising." Malfoy smirked.

"Even less surprising that you're here. Odd that I didn't see you last time I was here." Malfoy raised a brow.

"Well, that is surprising." He stated simply.

"So, just browsing?" Malfoy asked conversationally.

If someone told him three months ago that he would be standing in a dark arts store having a pleasant conversation with Malfoy, he would have laughed till he was blue in the face. But here he was.

"Yeah, I guess." Harry answered.

"Hmm. Well, you know there's a shop not far from here that sells wands without traces to minors. Just a suggestion. If anyone got a hold of your current wand and saw what spells you've been casting, I'm pretty sure there would be a riot." Harry nodded, remembering the trace removing ritual.

He decided a new wand would be much easier to get a hold of than all the ingredients he needed. Not to mention the time it would take to prepare the ritual and go through with it.

"Yeah. Think it would be a good plan to disguise myself first though. It's one thing me being in here, another entirely for the boy legend to be buying another wand down a dark alley for no particular reason." Draco nodded, and raised his wand to disillusion Harry.

He changed his hair and eye color, and hid his scar.

"C'mon, I'll show you where it is." Harry nodded. Now he was shopping with him. Go figure.

Upon entering the store, they were greeted by a young woman.

"Good morning," she smiled. She looked straight at Harry.

"New wand?" Harry nodded, not bothering questioning how she knew.

She went straight out the back, not saying another word.

"This should be interesting." Draco said from behind him.

"You can tell a person's magical core from their wand. Your first one is usually pretty neutral. Cause your young and untrained and it usually comes from Ollivander's. But the second one is the one that tells the tale. Especially if it doesn't have a trace. And this place isn't afraid to use the darker material." Harry didn't even know that wands could be made of anything other than what Ollivander made them from.

She came back with several long thin boxes, and dumped them down unceremoniously in front of Harry.

"Have at it." She said simply. Harry only hesitated for a second.

He ran his hand over the top of the boxes, feeling for the one. Not finding it, he lifted his head and told her so.

She seemed impressed, and went out the back once more. Though Harry didn't think it was that uncommon that he could feel the wands without touching them.

He turned to look at Malfoy and discovered that he looked impressed too.

"You must have a pretty decent magical core to do that." He said.

"Most adults can't even do that. This is definitely going to be interesting." Malfoy grinned.

Harry shook his head but said nothing.

After going through the same routine three more times, Harry was glad he could feel the wands. He would have been there for hours otherwise.

When he finally felt it, it seemed like this wand fit him better than his holly wand did. Which would have seemed impossible before.

He lifted it out of the box and got tingles up his back. He didn't need to wave it around to know that this was his wand, more than any other wand on this earth.

"This is it," He told the cashier.

"Hmm, Dead Ash wood. Unyielding. Basilisk venom core. Nice," She smiled, and Harry blanched.

Basilisk venom? Fantastic. Bleeding fantastic. He might as well go and kill some muggles now and save himself the moral dilemma.

He sighed as he and Malfoy left the store. Malfoy was ranting about how fantastically dark Basilisk venom was.

"You can't breathe a word of this Malfoy." Harry said when he could get a word in edgewise.

"Who me? Never. This is getting interesting. Wouldn't want to spoil the fun now." Oddly, this reassured Harry. If Malfoy had said something like, 'you can trust me' Harry would have had to Obliviate him. But Malfoy was saying that he was pretty much keeping his mouth shut for his own benefit, and that made Harry feel safe. Malfoy only cared about one person.

They parted ways, and Harry went looking for Ron and Seamus at Zonko's.

He didn't need special abilities to know that they would be there.

They stopped by the magical menagerie, and Harry bought mice for the snake under the pretense that they were for Hedwig.

Once back at the school, the Darkness hinted at needing him to cast more dark magic. Outwardly, he sighed. But inwardly, he was excited to use his new wand. He wasn't going to admit that a large portion of his excitement was for using dark magic with a dark wand.

The Darkness seemed to chuckle at him.

After casting the curse, and again getting higher than ever before nearly reaching that pinnacle and being yanked back again by the Darkness, being told that he wasn't ready. Again.

Harry couldn't lie, he was getting frustrated by that. He wanted to reach whatever that was. Even though he had no idea what would happen when he did.


	3. everybody's fool

Harry's next few weeks passed in a blur, spent not talking to Hermione, and being to afraid to look into Ron's mind. Before he knew it, he had to leave. As usual, Harry dearly wanted to stay.

And also as usual, he couldn't.

Ron and Hermione had promised profusely that they would write, and Harry smirked about Hermione's probable reaction at having not a single letter from him.

Harry was being escorted by Hagrid, and Harry was sitting in the side cart of the huge mans flying bike, not feeling very excited about returning to the Dursleys.

What the hell was he going to do when the Darkness wanted to be fed? His wand's spells couldn't be tracked, but the ministry could still detect his underage magic. Harry groaned and buried his had in his hands.

This was going to suck.

Getting out of the bike, he told the Darkness not to do anything at all. Unless it was completely necessary.

The Darkness agreed, begrudgingly, but told him that no matter what, at the end of the two weeks, they would both be suffering.

Harry walked into the Privet drive house with a frown on his face. He considered the trace remover, but it would take weeks to find the rare ingredients involved. He just wished that he had of thought of it before he left Hogwarts.

Now he was screwed. If he performed magic out of school, he would most likely be expelled.

That wasn't the best option at all. He was thinking he could maybe get the Knight bus to Diagon and cast it there. That was the only option, really. But escaping the Dursley's would be the hardest thing.

OoOoO

Harry Potter strongly disliked his relatives. One might even say he hated them. Though Harry was too pure in everyone's eyes to be able to hate.

Harry had to disagree though. They hadn't been raised by these people. Harry sighed at the thought of Hermione telling him-in her stern voice, of course - that his family couldn't be as bad as he said they were. Harry had always hated her naiveté, and now he hated it more so.

There was no ceremony when Harry entered, no welcome home. Just a barked order to get tea on the table. Harry reluctantly started the tedious process of cooking for his pig of a cousin and his aunt and uncle.

Though he would never admit it to anyone, he would never disobey them. Because right at the back of his mind, the part he didn't often visit, he feared them.

His uncle, mostly. He feared his angry outbursts, and Harry was sure that if he was any less than complacent, he would be beaten. Or worse.

Once finishing, he vanished into his bedroom. He had no tea as to not aggravate them any further with his presence.

Harry slipped his dead Ash wand out of his pocket and studied it. Harry was almost disgusted in himself that this wand fit him better than his other wand.

He got the feeling that the Darkness wanted to say something, but he instantly warned it that he might not be able to get away very easily this holiday, if at all.

The feeling faded and Harry sighed and rested his head back on his pillow, twirling the wand in his fingers.

He allowed himself to sleep then. He had nothing else to do.

When he woke, he took notice of the slight increase of the burn in his stomach. Normally, he wouldn't be bothered by it, but now, it was worrying.

While at Hogwarts, Harry had begun to notice a pattern. Each time he cast a dark spell, it took roughly a day less to need it again.

So, this stupid break was fourteen days, and judging by his last casting, he would be absolutely losing it in about five. He guessed that if the Darkness reserved its strength, he would maybe have another day or two.

He frowned. That wasn't a good-looking number.

Harry spent the first half of the day in Petunia's garden, weeding and watering. Every time that he told his aunt that he was finished, she came to inspect it, she told him he wasn't.

Harry wasn't sure what imperfections she was seeing, but he kept searching for them.

Harry had to figure it was her way to keep him out of the house and out of her way.

Either way, he would much rather be in his room. The third time he told his aunt he was finished, she finally accepted the fact that there was no more to be done.

The one thing that Harry hated most about these particular holidays was that Dudley was also home. When he walked in through the front door, Dudley was sitting front and center, eyes glued to the TV, laughing uproariously. Harry grimaced.

He headed straight to his room, skipping the kitchen entirely, knowing that if his aunt got a glance at him, she would come up with something else for him to do.

As soon as Harry got inside his door, he headed for bed. He figured, time spent sleeping was time he didn't notice the itch growing. And that was good news to him.

He woke to the sound of Vernon banging on the door, yelling about lazy good for nothing 'cur's'. Harry wondered where ho got the word 'cur,' from, and decided that his uncle extending his vocabulary wasn't always a good thing.

He sighed and got up, planning on going right back to sleep after he had cooked them dinner. Even though he wasn't tired.

He quickly whipped up some steak, sneaking some for himself. He threw in random vegetables, and called it done.

He climbed the stairs quickly. If there was one thing he had learnt about his family, it was that the saying, "out of sight, out of mind," came in full play. Unless they needed food cooked. And now that the last meal of the day was done, he was free to escape their minds completely.

He laid straight back down, though try as he might, sleep wasn't coming. He growled and tossed and turned.

He gave up and went to the window. When he glanced out, he swore that he saw something moving outside in the bushes. He watched attentively moving himself as far back as he could so he had less chance of being noticed.

Before long, he saw it again. Though Harry knew, logically, that it was probably a dog or cat, something told him he was being watched.

His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Snape stand up and stroll of, with someone he hadn't seen before replacing him behind the bush.

This set Harry's mind whirling. Whose side was Snape on? Who was he spying for? Who was the other person?

Harry sighed and crawled back into bed. It was a bad idea to go out there, in any case. If they were Dumbledore's men, then he couldn't really go out there and point a wand at them. If they were Voldemort's men, again, he couldn't go out there and point a wand at them.

This also brought up a new problem. How was he going to get away from here when the time came? He couldn't risk being followed to go and cast a dark spell.

It also made him wonder how long he had been watched. If he were being watched at Hogwarts, that was a big problem. Especially if these were Dumbledore's men.

But if Dumbledore had known he was casting dark magic, wouldn't he have already righteously beaten the door down?

There was a small comfort in that fact. He assumed that he was only being watched for the duration of his impromptu stay at the Dursley's. By who, he didn't know, but so far nothing had happened. Harry decided to leave it for the time being.

There was nothing he could do anyway.

OoOoO

Once again, when he woke, the itch had grown. Harry wasn't sure if it was growing alarmingly fast, or if his paranoia was making it seem that way.

The Darkness hadn't spoken a word so far but he could feel its worry. This told him that it wasn't just irrational fears.

He grimaced and got up to face another day of chores that didn't really need doing.

His aunt had told him the second she laid eyes on him that he was to reorganize the garage. Harry hated that job more than any other. He would spend the whole day putting things out for his aunt to inspect, only to be told to put it all back again when Dudley realized that his old toys where being thrown out.

Harry thought it was ridiculous. He was sixteen for gods sake, when did he play with toys? Even so, as soon as the boy laid eyes on things he hadn't touched in years, he would instantly throw a tantrum worthy of a two year old. And he would then go through the tedious process of putting it all right back where it came from.

When Harry entered the garage, he cringed. It was worse than he thought.

When about halfway through, he noticed that Dudley was leaving. He started to rush then, hoping that it would be done and everything would be taken to the tip before he got back. He had no desire to put it all back. Or do this ever again, for that matter.

He did get it done before Dudley got back. And he noticed his aunt was rushing to get it all in the car and to the tip.

Harry grinned as he got back inside. He couldn't wait to see his fat cousin's face when he realized all his toys had been thrown out.

When he noticed he had the house to himself, he quickly raided the fridge, taking a piece of cake and a chicken leg. He ate the chicken at the table, savoring the first bit of proper food in days.

The cake was even better. When he was full he went up into his room and awaited the arrival of Dudley. A part of him hoped that Petunia would get back first, it was always entertaining watching him go apeshit at his mother.

To Harry's surprise and dismay, Dudley had no reaction. Harry hoped it was because he hadn't seen the garage yet.

That was more likely than the boy being a mature reasonable adult.

OoOoO

On the third night, Harry found himself oddly lonely. He wasn't normally the type to need company.

He wondered if it was because the Darkness had been inactive. He dismissed the thought almost instantly. There was no way he was missing the Darkness. He wanted it gone more than anything. He thought that he must just need a conversation with someone who didn't hate the ground he walked on.

He thought of the snake in his trunk, but it was currently looking like a quill with a stasis charm on it. And he couldn't remove those with the trace on.

He wasn't about to let the Darkness come out for a good old chat, so he resigned himself to talking to Hedwig. He quickly got bored. After all, how much could you expect back from a bird?

She was extraordinary, no doubt. But she couldn't hold up a conversation.

When he awoke the next day, he knew that he didn't have long till he had to sneak out. Maybe a day, or less. He had already started absently scratching his stomach and chewing his lower lip. Petunia had been watching him all day as if he were a drug addict. And in a way, he was.

She watched him from the window as he weeded the front garden. She poked her head out of the door three times to look at him as he repainted the garage door. She checked the mail, as well. She hovered in the kitchen as he did the dishes. If he didn't know better, he would think she was worried.

He knew better. She was likely trying to find a reason to kick him out on the street. Harry wondered if he would even care. It might even help him escape. But then what would he do? He had enough money to get his own place, sure. But Dumbledore would likely force him back into the Dursley's. And what exactly would happen, if his aunt told him he was acting like a drug addict?

Likely nothing good. It wasn't a good scenario. But he would take it if there was no other way.

Late afternoon came, and Harry knew that tonight was the night. His gut was rolling and he felt sick. Petunia had picked this night to seat him at the dinner table with them. She had never done this before. Dudley looked angry and Vernon confused. Petunia looked determined.

Harry was nearly emptying his stomach on the table.

"What is the matter with you, boy?" Vernon spat.

Petunia looked on expectantly, as if she were sure he were about to say, 'drugs'. Harry snorted.

"If it's alright with you lot, I think I might go out for a stroll tonight." Was his answer.

Petunia spluttered. Vernon just went red in the face.

"I told you! He's on drugs!" The table was in an uproar.

"Always knew it, he's a freak!" Vernon spat.

They were so busy yelling about him that they didn't notice him leaving. Screw the wards.


	4. an odd discovery

Harry slipped out the back door completely unnoticed. Which, in his state, was a miracle. He was lucky to have even had his wand with him. He called the Knight bus, and later wondered how he had done it.

On the bus, there was no one else he could see. Which he was infinitely glad for. Though the thought of invisibility did cross his mind.

And he was half delirious at the time.

When he finally reached the entrance to Diagon Alley, he breathed a sigh of relief. When he got off the bus he didn't recall having told Shunpike where he was going. He shrugged it off and entered the pub. He straightaway got a room for the night, ignoring the barkeeps obviously bewildered expression. It must have been odd to have THE Harry Potter rent a room at this time of night with sweat dripping of him.

He limped into his room, slammed the door and wasted no time in pulling out his dead ash wand.

He breathed the spell and collapsed straight away under its weight.

There must have been something about his desperation this time, because it was much different than the last.

When before it was like a warm blanket, this time it was like an explosion. It hurt but he couldn't stop. It was almost the most painful thing that he had ever felt.

When it was finally over, Harry sat up panting. He felt better, less delusional. But he still felt awful. He suddenly remembered his earlier exit and made a spastic laugh-cry noise. He was in deep shit.

At least he didn't think he had been followed. He got to thinking about whether or not he should go back. It was an unattractive idea, to say the least. But he would have to go back there, in any case. All of his stuff was there. He ran the risk of being caught though, and being followed back. And there was the problem of the wards.

"The wards are fine. You only needed to be there for a second for the wards to recognize you and recharge."

"Then why did Dumbledore say that I had to stay for a couple of weeks?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure." Harry assumed that it had everything to do with his new found independence. If Dumbledore noticed that, he was sure to try and squeeze it out of him. The Dursley's was a pretty good plan.

As he sat in the dark room, he weighed the risks. He had to go back, for sure. But for how long? He could just take off from here, zip in, grab his trunk and Hedwig, zip back here. He was sure that his aunt's would have a fair few wizards out the front. And that, in a way, would help him.

He'd never apparated before, but it couldn't be too hard. Not in his advanced learning state. If he were to disillusion himself here, apparate there, then get inside as quickly as possible and get out just as quickly, it just might work.

The wizards in the area would confuse the trace, making them think that the other wizards were apparating, not him. He probably couldn't cast magic at the house, but then he didn't really need too.

He would have to wait till much later though, the Dursley's would still be awake. And Dumbledore would be watching the wards on the house like a hawk. He figured he would have three minutes to get in and out before Dumbledore could alert anyone of his presence. So he would wait. As good as that idea sounded though, he was bored. Sitting in the dark with nothing to do, it seemed, would do that to you.

'Well, you could always talk to me,'

Harry snorted.

"No thank you. I've come to enjoy your silence." As soon as he said it he knew it was a lie, but he would never admit it.

'Suit yourself,' He was in for a long night.

Three hours in, he couldn't sit still and do nothing anymore. He got to his feet and disillusioned himself. He listened carefully as the Darkness explained exactly how apparating was done.

He twisted his body to the best of his ability and pictured his aunt's house.

He didn't splinch himself.

He was correct in assuming that the front of his aunt's home would be crowded. There were at least seven wizards nearby, and he was glad not to spot Mad-Eye. That would have been a problem.

All the lights in the house were off and he was relieved.

He skirted around the wizards and witches, who were trying to be inconspicuous. Which was ridiculous, really. Anyone who saw the group of people wearing witches hats in the middle of the street talking about the uses of frogs, at this time of night, would immediately become suspicious.

Harry did his best not to snort as he passed.

They would all probably be locked up in the looney bin before the night was over.

Harry cast Alohamora on the back door and entered, rushing as soon as he crossed the wards. He needed to be in and out as quickly as he could.

He rushed to his room first, telling Hedwig to go out the back door and fly low. Then he told her to head straight to the Leaky Cauldron.

He rushed down the stairs and quickly fumbled with the lock on the door. He had known where the key was since his third year, Vernon kept it with the car keys near the front door. For someone who thought himself so smart, clearly he was incredibly stupid.

Harry dragged the chest out the back door and apparated as soon he was out of the wards. He breathed a sigh of relief. That had been almost too easy.

He collapsed into his bed, knowing that he would probably have to leave here as soon as the sun rose. If the Order was looking for him, he wasn't hard to find here. They only had to ask the barkeep to know he staggered into this place looking high as a cloud. He cast a Tempus and saw that it was two in the morning. He set an alarm on his wand for four hours from then. He knew it wouldn't take long for the Order to look here, but he hoped they wouldn't come too early.

Hedwig arrived mere minutes later, and he told her to leave again, and find him a decent place to stay. He then told her to come back before the sun rose. She hooted her agreement and swooped out the window. Harry left the window open a gap for her. Then he bolted the door, adding a few spells of his own.

He needed sleep. He didn't want to go back to the Dursley's yet, or anytime ever, as a matter of fact. So he was preparing himself for a wild goose chase. It would be worth it. He could run forever if it meant not going back. He grinned as he lay back down. This was going to be fun.

As soon as his wand started its irritating beeping, he shot up and shrunk his trunk down before he'd even properly opened his eyes. Hedwig hooted at the window, obviously done with her task. He disillusioned himself yet again, and crept down the stairs, leaving more than enough gold on the counter. No one was in the downstairs area.

He followed his owl straight down Knockturn and wondered when she got so smart. She seemed to know him better than he knew himself.

He was slightly worried about her though. She was quite obviously his owl. Everyone knew who she belonged to. He was glad it was early morning and he was in the last place anyone would look for him.

He decided that the Order was rather stupid. He knew that they wouldn't come looking for him here, and that alone made his opinion of them drop steeply. If you lost your savior, wouldn't you look everywhere? Even if the alley was renowned for dark magic?

Not that Harry really cared. He was glad for it.

While walking down the dark street, Harry decided he wasn't on their side anymore. He was on his own side.

The Order wasn't going to win this war. Their fear proved it. They were so afraid of dark magic that they would never understand how to stop it.

This didn't mean he was going to go jump on the dark side's bandwagon. He was still very adamant that that was never going to happen. But he had fully given up on the Dumbledore and his cause.

He pictured them as a bunch of blind people trying to tell everyone where to step. Though they had no clue themselves. They had no idea what they were doing. And they would fail. Harry, on the other hand, planned to lay low and leave this godforsaken place the second he was of age.

He realized that Hedwig had brought him a fair distance. He didn't recognize the place where she had lead him, and that suited him just fine. He cast a tempus and saw that it was nearly seven.

He would have to wait for at least another two hours till this place opened. He was fine with that. It gave his time to change his appearance. Though he knew that he wouldn't be found by the Order here, he could certainly be found by people who didn't hold him in such high esteem.

He gave himself dirty blonde hair and got rid of his scar to the best of his ability. He changed his eyes to a muddy brown, and gave himself an inch in height.

Harry decided he liked the changes. He definitely liked being taller.

He went window-shopping for the rest of his wait, memorizing a large amount of stores he wanted to visit later.

When he cast another tempus and saw that it was time to head back to the small pub, he got nervous. He didn't know what to expect from the place, and knowing this alley they didn't welcome strangers.

The little place was called simply, 'Stay.' Harry liked it. It was simple.

He pushed his nervousness down and headed back to the pub. Hedwig was still sitting on the eves, acting like a sort of beacon. He pushed the door open, and squeezed into the tight space. There was a woman at the desk, reading a magazine lazily. She didn't look up as he entered.

"I'd like to rent a room indefinitely." Harry told the witch.

She didn't look up.

"That'll cost you four galleons, then you have to pay the rest at the end of your stay." she told him, holding out her hand for the money.

Harry placed it in her hand and she counted it, walking over to the back wall where the keys were kept.

She looked at him for the first time.

"Up there," she said, pointing up the stairs.

"Third door on your left. Enjoy your stay." Harry nodded and headed up to his room.

The rooms were nothing to brag about but the bed was clean and that was all he cared for. There was a little booklet on the desk in the corner, telling him that the pub downstairs provided lunch and dinner. As well as alcohol.

Harry wasn't a drinker, but he could definitely do with a drink. He decided he would go down later. If nothing else, he might learn something about Voldemort's movements. He wanted to know if he would ever give up chasing him. Because Harry had. He was over it and no longer had any desire to continue the fight. Harry wondered for a moment if he should just seek Riddle out and tell him so. He shook the idea off. If he wanted to die, that's what he would do. But so far, no death wish.

He slept some more then, having had next to no sleep the night before. When he woke he left to look in the shops that caught his eye earlier. He was glad that he had gone to Gringotts his last trip to Diagon. He couldn't have done it this time. Not without revealing himself.

He had a large sum in his trunk that would easily get him through the summer, and then some.

When he went into the first shop, he nearly had a full-blown heart attack. Ron was inside. He edged around the back of the shop, which mainly specialized in books. He backed up against the shelve Ron was looking at and listened, pretending to be interested in a book on dark water magic. Harry didn't even know why the boy wasn't in school. He didn't remember a scheduled hogsmeade weekend.

Harry listened as he heard Ron arguing with the assistant.

"I know exactly what this is. I'm no amateur. I've been eyeing this for months. Saving just as long, you can't tell me what I can and can't buy." Ron sounded different. Not so airy. He wondered if it even was the boy he had grown up with, and not someone using Polyjuice for some evil plot.

Harry sighed. He was getting sick of evil plots.

"I'm not questioning your ability sir, I just want you to know how severely dark this book is. Necromancy is the darkest magic that I've ever heard of." Harry heard Ron groan.

"Just give me the damn book. It's for sale is it not?" Ron snapped.

"Yes, sir. Come this way." Harry took the opportunity to poke his head out of the shelves then.

Ron looked and walked the same as he always had. The only difference was the confidence in his voice. Harry was beginning to wonder what was really going on here. It did seem as if this Ron was his Ron. Though he did seem slightly different.

Harry thought back to all the years he had spent with Ron and tried to think of a time where Ron had slipped up and revealed his true self.

He couldn't think of one.

The only thing that Harry could call suspicious was his complete and utter failure when it came to light and neutral magic.

Just like Harry.

Harry removed himself from the shelves and lined up behind Ron, planning to buy the water magic book.

Ron turned and glanced at him for a second, and after assuming he wasn't a threat, turned back to grab the book and vanished out of the front door.

Harry was going to have a hard time figuring out this mystery.


	5. Bulletproof Bizzop, Swinging Hiel

Harry wanted to know what the hell just happened, but he decided against following Ron. He didn't want to make him edgy.

Though he could guess as to what was going on, he wouldn't know what was really happening till he returned to Hogwarts. He would read his mind. Harry was anxious to find out. A small part of him hoped that it really was Ron in the store. That way he wouldn't lose everyone when they eventually did find out what had been going on with him the last few months.

And he did know that they were going to find out. Harry had no delusions that things would continue as they were forever. He just had to be in control when it happened.

When he got back to his room, he saw an owl waiting and cursed. He grabbed his trunk and Hedwig, taking the letter from the owl and getting out as fast as he could. Someone could have easily followed the owl to his hiding spot and he cursed himself for not thinking of it earlier. He could have put up an anti owl ward.

He left three galleons on the desk and thought it plenty enough, since he didn't even stay the night.

Once he was a satisfying distance from the pub, he tore the letter open and read it quickly.

'_Hmm, how interesting,' _the letter began. It had no header and when he looked at the bottom, it wasn't signed.

_'The Boy Who Lived dabbling in the dark arts? I never would have imagined. This should make things fun.'_

That was it. Harry frowned. Who else knew besides Malfoy? That meant that he would have had to have told someone. But who? Harry's thoughts went straight to the elder Malfoy. Maybe it was him who sent the letter? Or it could be worse. It could have been Voldemort who sent it. But that didn't seem to sit well with him. When had he ever sent him a letter before? Never, that's when. But then again, Harry had never been dabbling in the dark arts before.

Either way, this wasn't a good thing. Whether the Dark Lord knew barely came into question. Of course he did. As if the elder Malfoy would keep such a juicy tidbit from his master. Harry had thought for sure that Malfoy wouldn't have told his father for fear of not being believed. He must have gotten proof. Maybe with a pensive. That was the only thing Harry could think of. He was stunned that he hadn't thought of it earlier.

He decided he would go back to that pub for dinner. Its patrons might know something he didn't. And at the moment, he knew next to nothing.

He wouldn't stay there though. As tempting as future letters may be, he couldn't risk it. Though he did want to know who sent it. Oh, so badly.

He thought back to the owl and remembered it as an eagle owl. He knew the Malfoy's had one, but that wasn't solid proof, much as he wanted it to be. He scanned the handwriting and wondered if he had ever seen Lucius' hand writing before. He couldn't think of a time he had.

He had to find a place to stay regardless. It didn't take him to long, thankfully. He ended up at a small hotel, not far from the pub. He thought it wise to hide not far from where he was found. No one ever really looked right under their nose.

He paid another four galleons as insurance and went straight to work in his room, casting anti owl wards and Notice-Me-Not charms. He went all out. It would only be better if he got his own secret keeper.

When he was done, he studied the letter again. He did recognize the writing, but that didn't really help him much. It could have been Dumbledore's hand writing, for all he knew. Though he very much doubted it.

He spent the rest of the day reading the water magic book that he bought. It was actually quite useful. It even had a spell to put out fiendfyre. He grinned. That would come in handy.

When it was time to leave, he threw a heavy cloak over the top of himself, disillusioning himself once more, making himself appear older. He headed to the pub, hoping that he would catch a break.

Upon entering the pub, he was pleased to see that it was fairly full. That gave him a good chance at getting information.

He crossed straight to the bar and ordered a Fire Whiskey. With the day he'd had, he needed it. He sat at the bar and listened closely to those closest to him. In an ideal world he would have heard something straight away, but that wasn't the case. He was getting prepared to leave, when he spotted a small group getting rowdy in the corner. One held his arm out for all to see, and on it, was the dark mark.

Harry got his third drink for the night and headed over to them. He had no clue what he was going to say, but he didn't think it was a good plan to show any fear or nervousness.

"It's really not a good idea to show that off," he said when he reached the table.

They all stared up at him like he was lunch. He took a deep breath in and continued.

"You never know who might be looking. Like the Boy Who Lived, perhaps." They all cracked up laughing then.

"Last I heard, he was on our side! Could you imagine," one laughed.

"What do you mean 'on our side'?" They must have been pretty drunk to be spilling this kind of info. It made him nervous. If they all knew, who else did?

"Take a seat, drink with us." One said, pulling a chair from an empty table. He had an idea that this was some sort of test, and that they weren't just being polite.

"What makes you so interested, hmm?" The one that held his arm up earlier asked.

"I'm entirely neutral, if that's what you're asking. It's all rather interesting, though." He hoped that it was sufficient.

They all laughed again.

"Well apparently, someone's kid saw him doing some dark stuff. In his school, no less. Sounds to me like he'll be joining the dark side soon," the one across from him said.

One of them nudged him in the chest.

"That was stupid; we don't even know what this guy wants."

Harry smiled.

"With all due respect, it didn't stop you last time." They all looked him over then.

"Hmm. I suppose your right." Harry had long finished his drink, and was starting to feel it. He didn't mind it though, he was much less nervous than before. He called the bartender over and ordered another.

"Well that's really all we know, but we did hear a rumor that the Dark Lord has a memory with Potter performing dark magic." So he was right about that. There was a pensive memory in Voldemort's possession.

"Hmm. It just seems so unlikely, no? I mean, really, who's going to believe that Harry Potter was performing dark magic? I'm disinclined to believe it myself." Harry said. The one that was next to him smirked.

"No one on the other team, that's for sure. They're bloody stupid." They laughed again. Harry sculled the rest of his drink. They were right. Of course no one on the other side would believe it. Except Dumbledore.

"What about the Headmaster of Hogwarts?" Harry asked. The one to his left frowned.

"Well, he's really the only concern, aint he?" Harry called for another drink.

After half an hour of debate and three more Fire Whiskeys, Harry was what you could call 'tanked'.

All the others had introduced themselves, drunkenly trusting him. He had gotten out of introducing himself.

After they had sung a song he didn't know the words to, with Harry mumbling non-words, Burley, the one on his left, finally asked the question.

"What's yer name, anyways?" He slurred.

"'Arry Potter," Harry slurred back, before clapping his hand over his mouth.

Thankfully, they all laughed.

"No, really. What's yer name?" Burley asked again.

"James Riddle." He thought it strange that he would chose the last name Riddle, but it was the first name that popped into his head.

"Nice to meet yer, James Riddle. Yer ever thought of joining the winning side?" Harry grinned.

"Not so much," He said.

"Well we could use a guy like yer, that's fer sure." Harry wasn't sure exactly what he had done to warrant an invitation to the Death Eaters, but he found himself oddly flattered.

He told them exactly that.

He eventually took his leave, strangely happy on the walk back to his hotel. It could have been any number of things that were making him grin like an idiot, but he pinned it on the alcohol and easy information.

That night, he felt as if he had only slept three seconds before he jolted awake. He remembered something about the handwriting. He pulled out the letter which he had kept under his pillow along with his wand and cast Lumos.

His mind had gone back to second year, and he was shocked to realize that yes, he had seen this handwriting before, and yes, he was again shocked at himself for not realizing sooner.

It was Voldemort's. Or rather, Tom Riddle's. He recognized it from the diary in second year after he fished it out of the toilet.

The Dark Lord had sent him a letter. That in itself was shocking. He wondered if Voldemort knew where he was. If he had people watching him, even now when he figured out where the letter came from.

He suddenly became jumpy and shut the window and latched it, casting a few spells while he was at it, even though Hedwig still hadn't returned from her hunting.

He chewed his thumb nail and wondered what exactly Voldemort was trying to do here. Was this a scare tactic? An invitation? A mind game?

Harry suddenly felt very stupid for leaving his aunt's house. No matter how much he hated it, it was safe, tried and true. What kind of idiot would leave safety if they had the biggest target on their head in Britain or Scotland or anywhere else for that matter?

Harry slumped on the bed and bit his thumbnail, trying to think of the best course of action. He wasn't planning on going back to the Dursely's, though it was childish of him. He didn't want to get into trouble.

He wondered if he could just continue as he was, if Voldemort would just leave it alone.

'You should write back,' The Darkness added suddenly.

What kind of crazy person would write back to the Dark Lord? He pondered it and guessed that it would be hard work trying to get a letter through to the most wanted man in the wizarding world.

But for some reason, he found himself wanting to try.

'You could just send it to the Malfoy's. The Dark Lord used their owl to begin with, right? If you sent a letter to them for him I'm sure that they would get it to him. And as a bonus I don't imagine they would read it either_.' _Harry almost smacked himself for not thinking of it first.

Of course they would get it to him, if they knew who it was from. He would have to sign it in a way that told them it was him, but didn't incriminate him. At least not too much.

He got out his quill and parchment straight away, though he wasn't going to send it with Hedwig. He wasn't going to risk her life. He would buy a new owl in the morning for the task.

At the moment, though, he had no clue what to say. Why are you stalking me? Why do you want to kill me? Harry knew the answers to those questions. It was Dumbledore's damn fake prophesy.

So what was he going to say? What's your favorite color? He decided to just writing and see where it went, he wasn't going to get anywhere sitting there and thinking about it.

_So obviously, the youngest of the Malfoy's spilled his guts. It must have been exciting for you, am I right? I even heard there is a pensive memory in your possession. How wonderful for me. Apparently being discrete isn't one of my strong points. I do strive to do better, though. But you, on the other hand, are making it very hard to lie low. Did you know your Death Eaters are telling anyone who asks all about it? Either way, that's not what I'm writing you about._

_What exactly were you trying to say with your letter? Are you still going with the death threats? Because I can tell you know the prophesy is a fake. Real one says, and I quote, "The one with the power to be the Dark Lord's right hand approaches... born to those who thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, the boy will have the power to destroy or save our world... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can die while the other survives... the one with the power to join the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."_

_Now, I can't even begin to imagine the look on your face at the moment, but I can guess it's amusing._

_Dumbledore made it up. If you don't believe me, take a look in the Divination Professor's head. The real memory is behind the fake. Dumbledore made sure that Snape was on the other side of that door so you would mark me from the start._

_So, what say you? I have no desire to stand in your way; I will literally be just an onlooker. I no longer care to be the Chosen One. They are stupid and ignorant. What I do want though, more than anything, is to be left the damn hell alone._

_Yours disinterestedly,_

_HP._

He looked it over and decided it would do. He got out an envelope and wrote on the front,

_Get this to your master. Yes, that master._

_From that annoying kid with a scar on his face._

If it were intercepted, Harry knew that he would be in a shit ton of trouble. But he did plan on not being intercepted. He would cast many a charm on his new owl, ensuring that it would be near invisible and completely unnoticeable.

If the Dark Lord thought it safe enough to use the Malfoy's as his mail service, then obviously they weren't being watched too closely by the Ministry. At least not yet.

Harry didn't get much sleep that night, and as soon as it was nine o'clock, he left for the Magical Menagerie. He bought the least noticeable owl and took it back to his hotel. He cast all the

privacy charms he could think of, and made the letter so that only Voldemort himself could read the contents. Everyone else who tried would be burned.

He tied the letter to the owl's leg and told it to take it to Malfoy Manor. He held his breath as he watched it fly off.


	6. are you the rabbit or the headlights?

_(A/N Oceanfur, I love you. You were my first reviewer and have reviewed nearly every chapter since. You're awesome :D *bows down to awesomeness* Oh, and Kylie, if you're reading, there will be a back story if I chose to use Ron in this. I already have a vague idea of what it will be too, but its still sketchy. Never fear, though, I'll do my best to make sure all of this story is as not confusing as possible. Thanks for your review :D oh, !important! apparently something's gone all screwed with the timelines in this fic. Am seriously sorry about that. For all intents and purposes please just ignore it and assume that Harry is about halfway through his school year. Again, sorry, I can't seem to find it in my files to fix it. This story was sitting in my computer for a while before I picked it up again, and I knew there would be little holes here and there that I would miss. If you spot a mistake tell me which chapter its in and I'll fix. Wow. Long author note. Kthnxbye. ) _

Harry spent another night at the hotel, then left to find another place. Again, he cast all the wards he could think of, only leaving the wards open for his new owl and the Malfoy's eagle owl. He took the small snake out of his trunk and removed the status charm. He had nothing else to do, the Darkness was in a state that Harry had come to call 'sleeping,' though he wasn't sure if that was what was really happening.

The first thing the snake did was complain.

"_That wasss awful, pleassse don't do it again, massster." _Harry smirked.

"_Not a fan of being locked in trunk transfigured into a quill? Whoda thunk it." _The snake just hissed nonsense at him.

Three hours later, he heard a pecking at his window and his stomach dropped.

He took his time getting to the window, not sure he really wanted to read the reply. He saw that Voldemort sent the eagle owl. His owl hadn't returned and he was glad that he hadn't sent Hedwig. He had no clue what had happened to the new one.

He opened the letter and was expecting it to explode or something. It didn't. He sat down on the bed and started reading.

_I'll send someone to look into The Prophesy situation. If what you're saying is true, then I suppose we can call off this feud. I do have better things to do, after all. I would like to inquire, however, as to how exactly you knew about ThePprophesy and where it was located in Trelawney's head. I didn't pin you as a skilled legilimens, sadly. _

_About the Death Eaters telling everyone about your forays into the dark side, I don't care. _

_You're quite rude to your elders, aren't you? _

_How exactly did Dumbledore fake The Prophesy? I would like more details on that. As you can guess I'm not going to be quick to believe a word out of your quill. _

_I find it odd that you would send me a reply. Or that you even knew it was me. You are intriguing, to say the least. What makes you think I don't have you surrounded right now? It would be very simple to find you, wouldn't you say? _

_LV. _

It wasn't as bad as Harry thought it would be, but the malevolent note that it ended on did worry him slightly.

The eagle owl was still waiting on the window sill, which told Harry that it had been instructed to wait for a reply.

Harry sat at the desk and started to write.

_Well, to answer your last question, I believe that you wouldn't waste time trying to find me till after you know if I'm telling the truth or not. It would just be a waste of resources, really. And what if I was telling the truth? _

_Don't send Snape. I have no clue whose side he's on and he's slippery like a slug. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. You're better of getting Trelawney when she's out in Hogsmeade. _

_Dumbledore gave Trelawney her staff interview at the school the day before the fake was made. Have you ever thought it odd that Dumbledore would give an interview in a crowded pub? I know I did. She gave the real prophesy in his office. He heard it and freaked out, I guess, because he Obliviated her. Then he told her the meeting would be the next day at the Hogshead. _

_He Imperioed her and made her give the fake prophesy. He made sure Snape was listening. Then he Oobliviated her AGAIN, (no wonder she's a space cadet,) and told her she got the job. _

_As for how I knew that, Parsel magic. Oh la la. More dark magic. Could you imagine? Thanks for that, by the way, I've found Parseltongue to be very useful. _

_I knew it was you, because I came into possession of your diary in second year. I recognized your handwriting. Eventually. By the way, that basilisk was a pain in the ass. Hard to kill, to say the least. _

_I sent you a reply simply to see if you would reply, really. And to tell you about the fake prophesy. I'm kinda over being hunted down all the time. It gets old, you know? _

_HP. _

He tied the letter to the eagle owl's leg, and gave it an owl treat as an afterthought.

Harry found it oddly fun to banter with the Dark Lord, and he wondered if he had lost his mind completely.

Harry had long since given up on trying to figure out what he was thinking half the time. Since the beginning of the year, everything had gotten skewed and confusing. Here he was, on the run, sitting in a shabby hotel awaiting a reply from the Dark Lord. Hermione was a hateful bitch, Ron may or may not be a necromancer, and Dumbledore was not above lying and scheming to make sure Harry would bat for his team.

Luna could see the future, or something. And Malfoy was the only person he could truly relate too.

Harry laughed. Hard. How had everything changed so quickly? He laughed harder when he realized that the only thing that had truly changed was him. Everyone else was hiding behind masks of their own making.

Harry found it incredibly amusing that the only one who had never put up a front for him was his worst enemy.

Voldemort was always up-front about what he wanted. Granted, that was Harry dead, but there was no deception in it. Truly, the only deception that Voldemort had ever created was the whole thing with Sirius not being in the department of mysteries when Harry had been searching for the prophesy. Other than that, there was nothing Harry could think of. He sighed. The only one he could trust not to lie to him. He stopped laughing then. His whole life had been a lie, and he had believed it. He found himself wishing that he had cast his first dark spell much sooner. It had certainly made everything clearer.

He had been sitting in this room doing nothing for way to long, but he couldn't risk leaving. At least here, he would get some warning if there was an ambush. His wards would make a lovely shrieking sound if someone crossed the door of the hotel with evil intent. That would give him maybe a minute to get out. It wasn't much, but it would do. He leaned against the back of the chair and sighed.

Though he was bored, this was a fair sight more entertaining than the Dursley's. And nowhere near as laborious.

He was woken later that night by a tapping on the window. He got up and crossed the space groggily. Both his owl and the eagle owl were there. He took the letter and sat down.

_Yes, I did hear that you destroyed that diary. I really would have preferred you didn't though. Can't be helped I suppose. I am truly surprised that you could destroy it. Might I ask how? _

_And yes you are correct in your assumption that I won't be acting until I know for sure about The Prophesy. You're smarter than you seem. Strangely so. I wonder about that. I've heard from many that you're not that smart. What changed? Unless you were always this assertive and forward thinking. Which I doubt. _

_No offence, of course. _

_Parseltongue? How very intuitive. Though I accept your thanks, I must have you know that I wasn't on purpose. Obviously. _

_I should have guessed Dumbledore would stoop to such lows to ensure his safety. He has always been that way. No, I do not trust Snape. He's not the one I would send to do field work and I am well aware that he is double crossing me. But he does come in handy for occasionally giving Dumbledore false information. _

_I do find it curious that you would warn me though. Why help the enemy? _

_LV. _

Harry smirked. If he didn't know better he would think that Voldemort was trying to be funny. The idea was a foreign one, for sure.

The eagle owl was still waiting so he started his reply.

_Did you just crack a funny? If you did, ha ha. Well done. I only told you about Snape because he might give you the wrong info. Dumbledore would obviously tell him to watch the fake prophesy and return it to you. Or something equally annoying. That wouldn't help me at all. _

_And no. I suppose you're right. I wasn't always this "assertive or forward thinking." but how that changed is my little secret. _

_And in truth, you were never really my enemy, so to speak. More like a hateful stranger. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not exactly fond of you. You're an asshole, truly. _

_No offence, of course. _

_And yes, Parseltongue. I'm good, right? I was wondering, is your snake a Fertura snake? _

_Why was the diary important? I destroyed it 'cause your past self was talking crap. Smashed it with the basilisk's fang. _

_My bad about that, then. If I had of known it was important to you, I still woulda melted it. _

_HP. _

He tied it to the bird's leg and again gave it a treat.

He had always wondered about the Dark Lord's snake. It was really too big to be a normal snake and he had never seen one like it before.

Now that he thought about it, the marks on his snake and Voldemort's were similar. And it would make sense that he would have one. He climbed back into bed and wondered why Voldemort would reply so late. How very rude.

The next morning, he decided to move again. Funny how he wasn't nervous about Voldemort finding him, but the thought of the Order finding him made him cringe.

Oh how things had changed.

On his way to his new hotel, he stopped into a shop that was like a mockery of the magical menagerie, to pick up owl treats and baby mice for the snake. He decided that it really did need a name. Though it was a snake, it had been nothing but helpful. And really, what was so bad about snakes?

As soon as he got settled in his new hotel and the wards were set, the eagle owl flew in the window, as if on a timer.

_Well I suppose your secrets are your secrets. But what made you change your opinion on Dumbledore's side? Something major must have happened. _

_Yes, a basilisk fang would do the trick nicely. And as for why the diary was important, that's my little secret. Talking crap? I can't imagine. Your sarcasm is wounding, truly. Yes, Nagini is a Fertura snake. How did you know? _

_And I wouldn't have expected you to ever spare the diary, of course. And Dumbledore is likely to interfere if I send Snape. You're right about that. _

_An asshole? Yes. I suppose I am. But I'm good at what I do and there's no shame in that. _

_LV _

.

As usual, the eagle owl was waiting.

_Well, the Parsel Legilimecy sure came in handy, you could say. I read a few people's minds and found that they weren't really on my side. It was a shock to my feeble mind, you can imagine. 'What, people don't like me? How shocking!' or something like that. Yes! Talking crap! You should have seen him. All cocky about how his name spelled out Lord Voldemort. I was like, 'Woah, congrats, you made an anagram. Good for you.' And I hope it wounds you, it's the least I can do. _

_I have a Fertura snake. Annoying little thing, it is. Always on about 'bonding us together,' you're obviously bound to Nagini, how did you manage the 'getting someone to willingly kill themselves thing.'? Seems hard to me. I mean, the Imperio wouldn't work, would it? That wouldn't count as willingly. Not that I'm going to do it, god no. I'm just curious. No shame in being an asshole if you're good at it? I guess so._

_HP. _

He tied the letter to its leg and watched it fly away, smirking.


	7. If you're not dancing, then you're dead

_(A/N MY. INTERNET. IS. KILLING. ME! It wont let me load a page, and when it does its takes nigh on three years to load. Ugh. It hurts to know I can't read my reviews straight away. I've noticed it runs good at about six in the morn. Yes I'm up then. Yes, I do want your sympathy. And your reviews. Reviews reviews reviews!) _

After three days of writing and learning a hell of a lot more than he pleased, the Dark Lord finally confirmed that yes, The Prophesy was fake.

He also told Harry that he basically tortured someone until they put their own wand to their head to complete the bonding ritual.

Harry told him that he expected no less from an evil mastermind.

Their correspondence dwindled to nothing then. They simply had no need to talk anymore. The feud was over. Finally, Harry was free.

He'd never been so happy about anything. He could do whatever he wanted when school was over. He would keep up the charade of 'Chosen One,' then he would go off and disappear.

Finally. He whooped and danced around the room. There was nothing greater than the feeling of freedom. And to top it off, he had avoided the Order for the whole time he was supposed to be at the Dursley's, and he was being picked up by Hagrid the next day. He wasn't looking forward to the aftermath, but he figured it would be immensely worth it.

He was sure he wouldn't be in too much trouble. He never truly was. They would merely profess how worried they were for weeks.

It was all lies, of course. They were only worried about themselves. Harry sighed. It was already time to get ready for bed. The only thing really making him want to go back was the whole mystery with Ron.

The next morning, Harry didn't want to get up. He laid there for way too long, his arms above his head. While he was lying there, he cast Liquida Tenebris so he wouldn't tear of anyone's head when he got back to Hogwarts.

When he was done, he realized that he had wasted nearly an hour away, and was incredibly late. He shot up and threw a robe over his pajamas, shrinking his trunk and sending the owls ahead, he was glad he kept his stuff packed all the time. Not bothering to disillusion himself, he shot down the stairs and out of the building.

He ended up just making it, having apparated himself and landing right next to Hagrid. Harry was incredibly glad that the man was there, otherwise he would have been expelled for underage magic. He had planned on simply getting the knight bus back, but he didn't have enough time.

"'Arry! Yer scared me! Where did ya come from?" Hagrid was looking around, oblivious to the fact that Harry had literally appeared next to him. He wondered if the half giant was deaf, too, because the man apparently hadn't heard the tell tale pop of apparation.

"Professor Dumbledore said yer might not be 'ere. Said that you ran off! Why would yer do tha' 'Arry?"

The Boy Who Lived shrugged his shoulders and got into the sidecar.

"Don't really want to talk about it." He muttered.

"alrigh', but the headmaster will want ta be talkin' to yer when 'e gets back."

Harry looked up.

"When he gets back? Where did he go?"

"Don't know, 'Arry. But 'e said it was important."

OoOoO

Upon arriving at the school, the first person

"Heard you escaped for the summer, nice." Harry looked around for any prying ears before answering.

"Yeah. So you told your father then?" Draco frowned.

"Yeah, I know all about it, don't bother lying. Met some Death Eaters on Knockturn willing to tell anyone all about it." Harry continued before Malfoy could get a word in.

"Sorry, my father knows when I'm hiding something. He would have gotten from me eventually." Malfoy shrugged.

He had an odd way of completely diffusing Harry's anger. Or enraging it.

"You stayed on Knockturn? Wow. Would never have guessed you would hide there. But then, that was the point, right?" Harry nodded.

They parted then, not risking being seen having a civil conversation. For that was a sure sign that the world was burning and you should enjoy your iced water while you could.

Harry decided to bite the bullet and find Ron and Hermione first thing. He didn't have to look long, they both came barreling down the hallway toward him.

Harry found that he was unintentionally backing away. It didn't bother him anymore, his own new perks. And he had reason enough not to trust these two. It was only natural that he would back away.

"Where have you been!" Hermione shouted. Now that he knew that she had never spoken a true word in her god forsaken life, it was easy to see what he never had before. The permanent frown, which before he'd thought was out of concern, now looked very much like plain and simple hate.

"Yeah, mate, we were worried about you." Ron added. As soon as he spoke, Harry straight away wanted to enter his mind. But he thought the odd hand movements and intense staring might be a tad suspicious.

OoOoO

He would have to wait until Ron was sleeping. It felt like forever away and he was anxious to find out the truth. It wasn't Polyjuice, he knew that. No one could imitate someone so well. Not without a lot of practice. He could have been Imperioed, but he didn't seem to have the glazed eyes and dopey expression that most had when under its influence. Harry accepted the fact that it simply had to have been Ron in the store, of his own volition. It just seemed so incredibly unlikely.

He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet with anticipation when they finally decided to hit the sack.

Harry started the spell work before Ron was even asleep, such was his excitement. What Harry found in Ron's mind was completely and absolutely baffling. There was nothing. No memories, no thoughts. Completely blank. If he had to give it a color, he would call it grey. There were no protective walls, either. Harry probed and poked for what felt like forever, until he found something very slight, like a silver thread on a grey backdrop. He yanked. It yanked back.

He let Ron's mind go then. He wasn't going to pick a fight with some unknown force. He wasn't that stupid. Not anymore.

His mind was buzzing for the rest of the night. This must have had something to do with nercomancy. Maybe necromancer's had different minds. That was the only thing Harry could think of at this point. He remembered the book that Ron had bought in Knockturn, and immediately went to Ron's trunk. A simple Alohamora opened it, much to Harry's disbelief. Wouldn't a necromancer have a bit more security? Harry found the only suspicious book in the trunk, and grabbed it. He figured if he took it, Ron would come for it soon enough.

It was in a different language, much to Harry's disappointment. He stuffed it in his trunk. His trunk was fitted with an alarm that sounded only for him to hear when someone attempted to enter. Which was definitely handy, because he had recently acquired a great many questionable books.

Harry laid back down, trying to get to sleep. He wanted to figure this out. Something didn't seem right about Ron's mind.

Harry had never seen or heard of anything like it. He wondered if the Dark Lord did. He didn't see the harm in asking. At worst Harry would be hunted down and slaughtered. But that was unlikely at this point.

He decided that in the morning he would send a letter, taking an incredible amount of care to hide his and the Dark lord's identity. He snorted at the thought of being worried about Voldemort's privacy.

He then told himself, with great conviction, that he was only worried about himself.

The next morning, he quickly wrote a letter asking about blank minds and necromancers, with a subtle warning about being discrete. He signed it; '_The Sarcastic One_.' He wondered what the Dark Lord would call himself. Probably something egotistical.

He headed to the Owlery and was pleased to find both his owls had arrived sometime in the night.

He tied the letter to the new owl's leg, and told it where to go. He decided on the spot to name it Lilo.

On his way back to the great hall, he got to the thinking about the snake. What does one name an annoying reptile hell bent on making you kill someone?

Hellion sounded pretty good.

He walked into the Great Hall and sat across from Ron, hoping to see him looking nervous. He didn't look bothered at all. Deciding that he would read his mind again, Harry glanced around and decided that no one was close enough to see what he was doing with his hands. He was getting much quicker with the hand movements and was happy when he set a personal record. The pressure must have been helping.

Ron's mind was the same slightly scary empty expanse, and Harry pulled out straight away. He had no want nor need to be in there again. Something just wasn't adding up.

The Dark Lord's reply came very quickly. Harry wondered about that. Was he close to the school? Did he accept Harry's owl into his wards? Or was he still using Malfoy's owl? He wondered if Malfoy knew anything about it, or if he was being kept in the dark.

He didn't want to ask. It was a bad idea to let anyone know about his and the Dark Lord's messages.

The reply arrived with the morning mail, and he had to make his friends think it was about a book query he had made. He kept it as vague as possible.

_Well, I've never heard of anything like that, but necromancy has never been my strong suit. It is intriguing, though. You're very welcome to fill me in on anything you find. _

_T _

Harry found it odd that Voldemort would sign with his true initial, but it was a good idea. Next to no one knew his real name.

The rest of the day passed slowly, dragging on. He had all of his least favorite classes, and he almost missed potions with Snape. All of his classes were thoroughly boring now that his learning capacity was incredibly heightened.

Later that night, he beat Ron in chess again, and he noticed that he didn't seem fussed by it. In fact, Ron seemed very distant. When he declared that he was going to bed early, Harry found himself slightly worried. Ron never went to bed early, not if he could help it.

Harry spent the next half an hour making small talk with Hermione and Ginny. When he thought it was acceptable, he left to follow Ron. He found that the red head was asleep, though strangely not snoring.

Harry lay awake for a while, before sleep finally took him. He was having a rather nice dream, when he was awoken by an incredibly loud shrilling noise. It was his trunk's alarm. He pulled his wand out in a flash and pointed it at the culprit.

It was Ginny Weasley.

"Ginny, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Harry hissed, not lowering his wand. He cast a silent and wandless silencing charm around them.

She looked bewildered. What was Ginny doing trying to get into his trunk, of all people?

"Harry, it's not what it looks like." Harry laughed.

"That's what they all say." She kept looking between his face, his wand and his trunk.

"You looking for something in particular? Or just browsing?" Her mouth opened and closed.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, girl, talk! What the hell were you doing?" She didn't say a word. Instead, she was trying to slowly back out of the room.

Harry quickly circled her.

"Uh uh uh. No, no. you tell me what you were doing first." Harry put his hand to his chin, mock pondering.

"Oh, let me guess!" He said excitedly.

"You were looking for the necromancy book, right?" He said seriously. She blanched.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Harry asked, softening slightly. She was definitely freaking, and Harry wasn't helping.

"Ginny, are you a Necromancer?" That didn't explain why Ron was the one buying the book, but it did explain why she was the one looking for it.

Harry noticed a tiny nod.

"You are? Then why was Ron buying that book?" Her head shot up.

"Why were you in Knockturn, Harry?" Harry noticed that she looked oddly hopeful.

"You answer me first. What's Ron got to do with it?" She looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Harry, it's a long story." Harry looked at his wrist, though he didn't have a watch.

"Oh, look at that, I have time." She looked confused but shook her head.

"No, Harry you'll never understand." Harry smirked.

"You'd be surprised about what I can understand." She looked into his eyes, as if searching for something.

"I've never told anyone, Harry," She was still resisting, but Harry knew he was close to getting the truth.

"Secret for secret?" He lowered his voice to make her feel safer. He also lowered his wand.

"You can't possibly have a secret as big as mine, Harry." Harry smiled.

"Try me?" She breathed out hard, and sat on Harry's bed. She patted the seat next to him.

"You might want to sit," She said. He complied, but he really didn't think it was necessary. She seemed to be preparing herself.

"I don't even know where to start, Harry." She dropped her head a fraction, and Harry got the idea that this had been weighing on her for a long time.

"The beginning?" Harry suggested. She laughed a small laugh.

"Harry, god Harry. I can't tell you how much I've wanted to tell someone this. It's just hard, you know. People get put in Azkaban for necromancy, do you know that? But it wasn't my fault, truly. True necromancer's are born with their power, they don't learn it through a book or whatever. And I happen to be a true necromancer." Harry wondered if that was her big secret and felt slightly let down. He put his hand on her shoulder but she batted it off.

"That's not all, Harry." She took a deep breath.

"Ron's dead. He's been dead for years."

_(OMG U GUyZ!1! Hahahaha. I wish I could see your face's. :D hahahahhahahahahahhaa, ha._

_Anyway. A few of you have asked about the snake, and if it and Harry will bond. The answer is... wait and see. I'm just full of evil tonight, huh? Also I've been told this story is similar to another and let me just tell you now, it is completely unintentional. I didn't mean to make this similar to anyone else's hard work, and I'm sorry if it seems that way. I plan on reading the story and trying to differ as much as possible. Consider that to be my disclaimer :) Oh, and credit goes to LadyVoldemort666 for helping me with the Ron dilemma. It was her idea to have it be Ginny, thanks for helping :D I really didn't want to use Ron. Crisis averted! Yay! Your reviews are my drug, I'm an addict. I love you all!)_


	8. poisoned hearts

_(A/N hehe. Got a few reviews for that one. Review replies here, because my internet is a failure at everything it tries. Kylie, yes, I thought so too. It just fits so perfectly that when I thought of it I did a happy dance. My boyfriend stared with his eyes wide. Yes, I cant wait to see Harry's reaction either, just as curious as you about that :) Oceanfur, I'm glad your eyes were like saucers. LunaMoon, haha. :P Ventus Princeps, I think I'm in love with you too. It's been a long time coming, and I want you too know I've put a lot of thought into it. I want us to be wed on the 29 of November. We will move to the Andes and have three children, all named twisty. Haha! I know. I simultaneously killed Ron off and kept him in the story. You should have recorded your reaction and emailed it to me. :D dementor999, I'm glad it blew your mind, that was what I was aiming for. And yes I can give you a heads up when slash happens :) it the least I can do for blowing up your mind, it must hurt. Gemini Peverell, oh, why thank you. I thought so too :) Ladyjaxs999, erm. If you're asking who Ron is, I suggest you read the books or something :S if you're asking whose Ron is dead, the only Ron is dead. It will all be explained this chapter. Kshadow yup. Dead. I know you are, but what am I? Haha kidding, kidding. It will all be explained below. Scarlett Woman is that all? Truly? How shameful for me. :D I will take a look at your story when my internet allows, though I do plan on buying another modem today. We'll see how that goes. Somethingsable, hehe, wait and see. And Congrats you made an anagram even made me giggle. Yes, I frequently laugh at myself. It keeps me sane. Or insane. Whatever. I love you guys! On with the show!) _

Harry stared at her for a long moment, completely sure she'd lost her mind.

"Did you just say that Ron, who I was playing chess with mere hours ago, has been dead for years?" She nodded.

"No, no, no, you don't say something like that and then just nod sagely, you have to explain." Harry was completely bewildered, and wondered if he should get a professor or something. There were two things stopping him from doing that. His distrust for Dumbledore and his fierce curiosity.

"Well, I was planning to," She said.

"It happened ages ago. We were only little. It was an accident; we were outside, me and Ron. I think I was four years old. We were near the Broom shed, and Dad had just bought the twins a broom to share. Ron and I were fascinated and would watch them for hours while they took turns. We weren't allowed, of course. But that day, we were unsupervised. I remember Ron and I arguing about who would go first. I fought pretty hard, I can remember that. A four year old's determination." She smiled a sour smile.

"Ron won out soon enough, saying he was older and better and he was the boy. So he got the broom out and flew up a few feet. I was so excited I dared him to go higher. He did, and then he got too high. I started to get scared and I told him if he didn't come down, I would get mom. He wouldn't listen, and he was whooping and carrying on in the air. Then he fell. He landed right on his head. He would have died instantly. I remember that the first thing I thought was, I can't tell Mom. How awful is that, Harry? My brother died, and I was worried about getting into trouble." She made a choked sobbing noise and Harry wrapped his arms around her.

"You were four, Gin." Though he still really didn't know what was going on, he could see she was truly hurting.

She snorted.

"I was going to bury him behind the pitch and hope that my parents would just forget he existed." She let out a bark of a laugh.

"As if he was disposable. My big brother. Then something happened. It was like the whole world went grey, and I saw Ron. He was just standing there, in the middle of this huge grey place. He was facing away from me. This voice spoke, but it wasn't Ron. It told me that I could just pretend that it didn't happen, bring Ron back to life. I know now that that isn't what this is. Necromancy doesn't bring people back to life. It merely imitates life. Having said that though, I think I still would have done it then, had I known. So I brought him back, so to speak. It wasn't hard; it was as easy as breathing. It was the keeping him moving thing that was hard. He must have dropped down dead four times. My family started to think he was Narcoleptic." She bit out a sad laugh again.

"It took me ages to get Ron to do more than the basics. It's still hard sometimes. If I'm distracted, or angry, or any other strong emotion, the link sort of drops out. And lately, I've been feeling something, in there. Tugging at the connections. It's been worrying me." Harry put his hand up guiltily.

"That was me." She stared at him.

"It was, you? How?" Harry smiled.

"I suppose I did say secret for secret." Harry stood up and held his hand out to her.

"But I won't be telling you here. I did cast a silencing charm, but I would like higher security for this." She looked oddly offended, and it took Harry a second to figure out why.

"Hey, I had no idea you were going to tell me what you told me. You just blurted it out. I didn't really have time to redirect us. And you were kind of on a roll. Also, what I'm going to tell you is a bit more, sensitive, if you can believe it." She seemed satisfied and stood to follow him. He cast a notice-me-not and snuck them both out of the dorm.

He led her to the edge of the forest and collapsed onto the ground, patting the spot next to him.

"Pull up a seat," He smiled.

"You seem to be taking what I told you very well," She seemed suspicious.

"Well, if you had of told me that last year, I may have thrown you into Azkaban myself. But things are, different, you could say." He smiled.

"If I tell you this, I'm basically trusting you with my life. But you gave me something that could have your soul sucked out in an instant, I think I have a bit of insurance." He smirked and her.

"Hmm, ok. Well. It started when we were at the Department of Mysteries. When I chased after Bellatrix, I caught her, funnily enough. Now, when I did catch up to her, I was so damn furious, that I cast the Crucio Curse." Her eyes widened but she didn't say anything.

"Before the school term started, I felt, I don't know. Wrong? Yeah, wrong. I stopped feeling sad about Sirius very abruptly, and that's the first thing that had me worried. I still don't know why that happened. At first, I thought that one of the Death Eaters had cursed me. I was angry all the time and I had this, itch, is the only way to describe it, in my gut." He motioned his hand over his stomach.

"I bought a snake in the Magical Menagerie, yes, a snake, how dark of me. It told me that I have the Darkness, capitol D. I still have no idea what that means. Then I started hearing this voice in my head. The Darkness. It started talking to me, Gin. And it scared the hell out of me. Then I discovered that this thing needed to be fed or I would start feeling ridiculous and end up in a lot of pain. It needs to be fed dark spells. So here I am, sneaking of into dark corners and casting dark spells. That's why I had to run off from Privet drive. I couldn't do magic in the Dursley's." She looked shocked, but she didn't looked appalled. Harry thought that was a good sign. He didn't even realize how much he had wanted to tell someone. How much he wanted someone to understand and not judge.

"I'm getting off track. Anyway, the Darkness starting talking, a lot. It told me that it had always been in me. But it had just been brought forward the first time I cast a dark spell. It said that I had a dark magical core, that's why it took me forever to get a grip on other kinds of magic. I didn't believe it then, but as time goes on, I'm not sure. The more dark spells I cast the more I think it might be right. The first time I cast the Crucio, I felt, well, let's just say I know why its popular." Harry smirked, and Ginny surprised him by smiling.

"I bought this book, in Knockturn, it was about Parselmagic. There were a few spells in there that were really useful. One was for mind reading. So I used it on Dumbledore and discovered that The Prophesy was fake. The real one says that I have the power to destroy this world or save it, and that I would be the Dark Lord's right hand if I ever joined him. So Dumbledore is completely full of shit, never trust a damn word he lets slither from his mouth." Harry snarled.

"So, what Prophesy?" Harry had forgotten that she didn't know about it.

"Umm. It basically says I have to defeat the Dark Lord. That neither of us can survive while the other does. The opposite is true, I'm not sure of the little details, prophesies are confusing. But basically, the both of us are immortal and only we can kill each other. And it has to be at the same instant, because if one's dead and the others alive, even if there's only a seconds difference, we'll both spring up somewhere eventually. Anyway, as I was saying, I can read minds. I made the mistake of reading Hermione's mind and discovered that she's a hateful mudblood." Ginny's eyes widened.

"Harry!" She admonished.

"Well, it's true. She's been, hired, or something, by Dumbledore to be friends with me. She truly hates my guts. And Ron's. And probably yours, too. Anyway, the mind reading thing was how I figured something was up with Ron. At first, I really didn't want to read his mind, because I thought that if he hated me too, there would be nothing stopping me from losing control. So I left it and let myself pretend everything was fine. Then I saw Ron in Knockturn, and I had to know what was happening. I knew he bought a book on necromancy, and I was oddly happy about it. I mean, if me going dark is inevitable, it would be great not to lose everyone. So I vowed to read his mind. When I did, I found the strangest thing." Ginny nodded.

"The Grey." She confirmed.

"That's the one," Harry agreed.

"So I took the book from his trunk, you really should heighten the security on that, by the way. And I took the book and put it in mine. How did you know where that was, anyway?" She smiled.

"About the security, it wasn't intended to be with Ron for that long, I was going to take it when we were on the train but I didn't get the chance. And I had Ron put a trace on the book. Let me tell you, I was shocked that you had it. But I'm glad it was you now. If it had of been a teacher or someone else I don't know what I would have done." She smiled.

"Yeah, that would do it. Wow, there is so much to tell you. These last few months have been hectic, for sure. Hmm what else? Draco Malfoy caught me casting a dark spell and told his father. Who then told the Dark Lord. Who then sent me a letter over the holidays." Ginny's eyes widened considerably.

"What did it say?" Harry smiled.

"Erm, something along the lines of, 'this should be interesting.' I told him that The Prophesy was fake, and that he can stop trying to kill me now. He said he would look into it and sure enough, I was right. It's over, Gin, I'm free." He barely whispered the last part, and Ginny leapt up and caught him in a hug.

"Oh, Harry I'm so glad." Harry smiled and hugged her back. It was such a relief to tell someone, though he never expected it be Ginny.

"Oh, me too." Harry grinned.

"Harry, I never would have guessed, truly. Even the way you act around Hermione even though you know she hates you. And Dumbledore. I mean, no one's going to guess." Harry smiled, pleased that his acting wasn't going unappreciated.

"Well, they'll know one day, I'm not delusional. But I plan to keep up the charade, maybe keep it up till schools over. Ginny, I was wondering, does Necromancy require a dark magical core?" She nodded.

"Then how are you doing so well with school? I can never keep up." She laughed.

"Lots of practice." Harry groaned.

"How did I know you were going to say that?" She laughed again.

"I'm so glad that we had this talk, you have no idea how much I needed to tell someone about this, I used to talk to Ron about it, if you can believe that. It did help, sometimes. I'd make him hug me and say it would all be fine. How pathetic is that?" She was crying, and Harry pulled her close and laid her in his lap.

"It is absolutely not pathetic, don't ever call yourself that again." He ran his hand through her hair.

"Thanks." She whispered.

They stayed like that for a while, talking about everything that they could think of, until Harry noticed that the sun was rising.

"Wow," Harry said.

"Yeah, we should head back. I have some pepper-up potions, for the worse nights. I'll get you one." Ginny told him.

They headed back up to the castle, the both of them felling insurmountably lighter.

_(A/N I love you guys. Truly. I was only expecting like, one review, telling me that I should shutup. Haha, but apparently, you all rather like this story. Its close to 3000 hits right now and I feel all gooey. I swear, if it ever reaches ten thousand I'll melt into the floor. I hope this chap cleared up everything, I did try to fit it all in, but I can always add more later. Love you guys! *hugs and cookies* Review, and I'll send you a picture of me melted into the floor. On another note, I've tried around forty times to upload this, so if you're reading this, consider yourself lucky that I haven't thrown my computer in front of a truck.)_


	9. off to see the wizard

_(A/N Jester, make that nine in four :D I know. I know. No need to bow. Just kidding, bow down to me. Hehe. Ventus Princeps, lets make it the 26th. It's my birthday then. So you can't refuse me. Oceanfur, you should marry me too. I'm not sure if polygamy is legal in the Andes, but we will see. I've always been neutral about Ginny. I like her as a necromancer and Harry really did need someone to relate too. So she fits the bill now. Onyx, yes, I update very regularly. At the moment am putting up an average of three chapters a day. Kylie, yes I get that feeling often. But I have new internet. I actually got a contract with telstra. They gave me 4G, fastest in aus atm. So YAY! I was so sick of my old internet. Bluetoads, why thank you :)Somethingsable, why, but of course. )_

The pepper up potion worked, but only to an extent. Harry was groggy and lethargic, but he felt it was well worth it.

"You look perky today, Harry." Hermione commented. He was getting good at picking out the venom in her words.

She made him feel like no matter what he did, he was stupid for doing so. He was oh so close to hating her. And earning his hate was a hard thing to manage. Harry sighed as silently as he could. Harry hardly felt 'perky,' in fact he felt half dead. He was smiling though. Harry didn't know how that made him 'perky,' He turned to look and her and hid the grimace that was so close to surfacing.

"Not perky, Hermione, just happy." He smiled at her, gritting his teeth as he did so.

"Hmm." Was all she said. She was starting to show her animosity much more openly now. Harry wasn't sure why, it could have been that now that Harry knew that she hated him, he could see it clearer.

He had Transfiguration next. It was his least successful subject. Even now that he had the Darkness, he could never really get the hang of it. He wished that Ginny was in his year, so he could sit with her. It was remarkable to him how quickly he started to consider Ron as a living dead person. Now that he knew that Ginny was pulling the strings, it was easy to stop Ron's repetitive and slow behavior. Even then, if he didn't know it, he would just think that Ron was just stupid. Harry had to admit, she did a pretty good job of living two lives.

He watched Ron with interest the whole lesson, paying little attention to Mcgonagall. He even entered Ron's mind and tugged at the string a few times, to annoy Ginny. He had nothing better to do. When lunch rolled around, he sat with Ginny and shirked Hermione. Ginny repeatedly nudged him in the ribs and asked him how he liked it. He just laughed.

"I have a free period, what are you doing?" She asked. Harry thought for a second.

"Umm, I have Potions, but I'm totally all for the idea of skiving. If you're asking," Harry grinned.

"My thought's exactly." She laughed.

"Room of Requirement?" She nodded. After lunch, the two of them headed for the seventh floor, watching for teachers. They didn't pass one.

"What should we make it?" Ginny asked, as they stood with their backs to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

"Hmm. A library?" She nodded. Harry wondered then.

"A dark library?" Harry wondered what she would say. Even though she was okay with the idea that Harry had been performing dark magic, being brought up in a predominantly normal family must have given her some prejudice. Harry grinned when she nodded excitedly.

She had surprised him greatly. She was one of the last people he would have pinned for a dark witch, but here they were. But then again, Harry was good at hiding it too. It made him wonder about the rest of his classmates.

Once inside, Harry was shocked at how quickly she found a book on necromancy and collapsed into a pile of pillows.

Harry smirked at her and pointed this out. She waved him off with a smile on her face.

Harry scanned the books for what felt like forever, until he just settled on a book about the basics on dark magic. About half an hour, Harry wondered something.

"Gin, how long does it take for us normal people to learn necromancy?" She made a rude gesture with her hand when he said normal people. Then she said;

"Possibly years." Harry nodded.

"What if one were to have incredible learning abilities?" She snorted.

"You're very sure of yourself, Harry." Harry's face stayed blank.

"I'm serious," She stared.

"You're serious?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Like cancer." Harry watched Ginny's expression change from amused to intrigued in about zero point five seconds.

"Wow, Harry. Does the Darkness make that happen?" Harry nodded.

"We have to test this." She jumped up excitedly.

"Okay," Harry wondered what her mind was cooking up.

She was scanning the books, and Harry watched with interest as her eyes flashed over titles quick as lightening.

She made an approving noise as she pulled a book out. 'The Basics of Necromancy,' the title read.

"Okay, read this," Harry watched her as she transfigured a rabbit out of thin air, and in a flash, she snapped its neck and plopped it in front of Harry.

"How lovely." Harry deadpanned.

"Oh, grow a pair, Harry. You act like you've never seen a dead bunny." She petted the dead rabbit.

"Oh, you are twisted," She just laughed.

Harry read the first page and snorted.

"You couldn't have just told me this_? 'Imagine the dead creature rising once again to the living plane,'_" He read aloud.

"That sounds hard." He snorted.

She smacked him in the head.

"Eww, Ginny, you touched the rabbit with that hand!" Harry whined.

"Just do what it says Harry." Harry stared intently at the rabbit for what felt like years, before he looked up at Ginny and said,

"This is never going to work." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"We've been doing this for, like, a whole ten minutes. Do try to remember that this usually takes years." Harry looked back at the rabbit.

"Who would want to-" The next thing Harry knew, he was being slammed into the opposite wall, hearing nothing short of a sonic boom, and seeing nothing short of a nuclear explosion. As soon as he hit the ground, his back arched painfully. A feeling reminiscent of Liquida Tenebris hit him all over. Only it was about fifty times more intense. It felt as if his brain was exploding with pleasure, though his whole body hurt from his impact with the wall. He could hear Ginny yelling at him to get up, and he swatted at her to the best of his ability, his back still arched at a ridiculous angle.

"Ginny, shh." He ground out.

He noticed that she had shut up, and was glad. This was the best thing he had ever felt, and she was making it hard to concentrate.

After what felt like not long enough, he collapsed to the floor, panting.\

He noticed Ginny sitting next to him, concerned.

"Harry, what the hell just happened?" Harry was smiling.

"I have no idea, but it was freaking awesome." Harry panted.

"You were having a fit for nearly an hour." Harry tried to get up, and failed. He fell back to the ground with a goofy grin on his face.

"Not long enough," She shook her head.

"Your eyes are funny." She told him.

"Are they? I can't see them," He grinned stupidly.

"Yeah, I wouldn't think so. Your pupils are huge. Like you're on dregs." She still looked concerned.

Ginny, darling, what the freaking hell are dregs? And oh, calm down, party pooper. Necromancy is dark, right? So the Darkness was probably just feeding." She raised her eyebrows.

"That's how it feeds? And they're those things that muggles do to get fly." Harry laughed.

"Do you mean drugs? And high? And yes, it felt pretty similar, Only where before, it was like a candle, where now, it was like the sun punched me in the face. Only in a good way." Ginny frowned.

"Yes, drugs. That's what I meant." Harry laughed and looked over at the dead rabbit. Only it wasn't dead. At least, it didn't look like it.

"Oh, look. I did it." Harry said.

Ginny looked over and her mouth dropped open.

"I didn't even look. I was too busy making sure you were ok! Oh my Merlin, Harry, you did it!" She bounced excitedly and went to the rabbit. As soon as she picked it up, her face went white and she stared at Harry open mouthed.

"Harry, it's got a heartbeat," Her voice was a whisper.

"It does? Is that bad?" She shook her head.

"No, Harry, this is fantastic! You didn't just reanimate it, you brought it back from the dead!" As if to proof her point, the rabbit broke free of her arms and bounced into the corner, eyeing Ginny warily.

"Holy hell, Harry, that's never happened! Never in the history of magic has anyone ever brought so much as a fly back to life!" Harry grinned.

"So, that's good then." She waved her hands in the air spastically.

"I don't even know how you can be so calm about this! This is huge! Absolutely the biggest thing that has happened, in, well, ever!" She was absolutely foaming at the mouth.

"Ok. Ok. We'll look into it later. But apparently, bringing things back from the dead is hard. And I'm tired." She begrudgingly nodded.

When Harry got to bed, he fell asleep instantly.

He woke groggily to the feeling of someone breathing on his neck. He curled into the presence, bending his neck, as if offering a touch. Harry mewled when the presence accepted. Then he promptly threw himself out of bed, twisting to get free from the comforter. What the hell was touching him?

There was no one on the bed.

Harry shivered. The only thing he could think of was the Darkness. When he inquired though, he got no comment.

He was irked, to be sure. What would make the Darkness do that?

Harry filed it away for later when Ginny barreled into the room and asked him if he was god damned awake yet.

She noticed the fact that he was on the floor, but didn't say anything. He silently thanked her for it.

After an hour of Ginny barraging him with questions, he finally told her there was something he needed to do.

He went to the Owlery with a piece of parchment and a quill. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like he needed to tell the Dark Lord about what happened with the rabbit.

_Hello. I just brought a rabbit back to life with necromancy. Not reanimated, brought it back. With a heartbeat and everything. Cool, right? Thought you should know. _

_The Sarcastic One. _

He tied it too Lilo's leg and sent her off.

He wondered what the Dark Lord would say. He would probably call bullshit.

No more than half an hour later, an eagle owl was bashing its frantically on his window. He opened it, and it fell into the room.

_If what you're saying is true, we need to meet. Take this Portkey. When you're ready, the password is Mosmorde. Destroy this letter and show no one the Portkey. _

_T. _

Harry took the Portkey from the owl. It was a bracelet, but Harry tied it around his ankle. Harry was no longer sure if it had been a good idea to tell the Dark Lord. He wondered if he would even answer the summons, when he felt the pull behind his navel.

"Fuc-" Harry blurted before he was yanked from Hogwarts entirely.


	10. Incredibly offensive

_(A/N. Ok, first things first. Review response time! Yay! Somethingsable, though the rabbit would be cool, Harry's not much of a fan of it. Hehe. JaredLetoObsessed thanks you :D Dementor999, thanks, am glad you like it, I strive for awesomeness. HPfan29 yeah, I know. I like the idea too. This fic wasn't going to go down this path at ALL, but I love how it's coming along so far. It went from mediocre to $%#^!^ mind blowing in no time at all. And yes, I do have a big head. How could you tell? Bluetoads. I think so too. Don't you just wanna grab his cheeks and wiggle his head around? Kylie, I know, but when have Harry's impulsive unthinking actions ever surprised you? And the necromancy thing will be half explained, sort of, this chapter. Onyx, oh, stop it. *blushes* Nastiface, you made me giggle when you made a bad word. I'm twelve and what is this? Haha! Thanks for your awesome review :)_

_**IMPORTANT!**__ Well only a little important, but I do recommend you read this, lest you miss out. Lets start at the beginning, shall we? Last night, I went to bed. This is what I was thinking. 'La de da, I'm going to bed,' this was at about ten o'clock. As soon as my head hit the pillow, this idea hit me. And it didn't let go until nary on three in the morning. So today, as I sit here at six a.m, I am proclaiming that you won't be getting your usual two chapters. "BOOOOO," I know, I know. But don't you wanna hear the idea that practically wrote itself? Instead of a second chapter, you'll be getting a Ginny-centric one-shot, that will be giving way more detail about how Ginny coped with, and studied, her necromancy. For those of you who aren't interested, never fear, it's completely stand alone. And not necessary for the plot of LT. It's just for those of you who are curious. So look for that somewhere in the next twenty four hours. Though it will be much less than that, I assure you. Its eating my brain. Also, on my profile there is now a play list for LT. If you wanna check out what I listen too when writing and proofreading, there you go. Don't say I don't adore you.)_

When Harry hit the ground, face first, he groaned. He stood up, and he and Voldemort stared at each other for a long moment, before Harry said;

"That was rude, you Asshat," The dark lord waved his hand in dismissal.

"I do apologize for the deception, but I knew you wouldn't come of your own volition." Harry snorted.

"Yeah, well, I trust you less now." The Dark Lord smirked.

"You trusted me before?" He asked.

"Touche," Harry said. Where in reality, though he would never say it out loud, Harry felt that the only two people in the world that he could put his faith in were Ginny and the Dark Lord.

Not that he would trust the Dark Lord with his life, or anything, but he was solid, and Harry knew what to expect of him.

"So, were you serious about the rabbit? Because if you were, this is a rather amazing skill you have acquired. Might I ask how you acquired it?" Harry tapped his nose.

"Mum's the word. Why on earth would I teach you to bring your army's back to life? That's even assuming it's teachable." Again, Voldemort waved his hand.

"It's not an issue, I suppose. But I was wondering if I could make a request?" Voldemort asked.

"Oh, feel free, but don't expect a positive reaction." Harry grinned.

"Can you show me?" Harry thought about it.

"Oh, I don't know. Are you sure? It might have a negative impact on your ego." Harry waggled his eyebrows.

"Yes, I'm sure." Voldemort deadpanned.

"Well, I need to have something dead, first. Oh, and no people, you psycho." Voldemort conjured another rabbit.

"Avada Kedavra," He said in a bored tone.

"Ok, I gotta tell you first, though, you might wanna hold onto something. And shield your eyes. And maybe cast a shield charm to help with the impact. I've been told it hurts. Oh, and when I'm rolling around the floor for roughly an hour, never fear! I'll be fine. Better then fine, actually. Oh, and I might be incredibly offensive. Please ignore that,"

Voldemort raised his hairless eyebrow, but said nothing as he cast a shield charm.

Harry shook his at his sides and cracked his neck and back.

"I'm so not looking forward to the back pain that comes with this," He gave the Dark Lord a forlorn look.

Again, he raised his eyebrow.

"Okay, here he go." Harry stared intently at the dead rabbit, as he had the day before.

The effect this time was instantaneous this time. He slammed backwards into the wall and noticed that this time, he put a large hole in it.

He writhed on the floor, howling like an animal. Harry didn't think it possible, but it was stronger this time. He felt his wrist break on impact, but didn't much care. Not yet, anyway.

When it passed, he noticed that the room was completely obliterated. That hadn't happened last time.

"The rabbit has a heartbeat and is currently hiding in the wreckage that was once my desk," Voldemort stated. Harry ignored him.

"Loook at my haand!" Harry cackled.

"It's totally facing the wrong way!" Harry laughed hysterically.

"Ow. It hurts. Fix it, would you, ugly?" Voldemort frowned.

"With that tone, I won't be fixing anything," He told Harry.

"Fine, geez. It's not my fault you look like a dead merperson." Harry watched in fascination as his wrist cracked back into place as he healed it wordlessly.

"I do not look like a dead merperson. This form is meant to be intimidating." Harry snorted.

"Weeeeelllll yoooou faaaaiiilllleedd." Harry sing songed."Wait, this form? You have another? I always thought you were permanently an ugly mother fucker." Voldemort watched him carefully.

"I'm going to ignore that last statement. And the several before it. Do you know your eyes are completely black?" He asked.

"Yes, because, unlike everyone else, I have the ability to see my own eyes without a mirror." Harry made a high pitched squeaking noise that the Dark Lord could only guess was a laugh.

Voldemort conjured a mirror and passed it to Harry.

"Woah, how wicked is that? I look pretty bad ass, right?" Harry grinned.

"I think the glasses kill the effect." Harry looked crestfallen.

"How could you say that! I just raised the dead and now I'm sitting here with wicked black eyes, and you go and say that? Well, your face kills the effect!" Harry spat spitefully.

Harry crawled across the floor on his hands and knees toward where the rabbit was hiding.

"Here, bunny, bunny, bunny!" he called. He pulled it out by its ears and looked it in the eyes.

It kicked frantically. Harry frowned.

"You should be more grateful. I brought you back from the dead." Harry pouted.

"You're not welcome," Harry said before smashing it's head into the ground.

"I'm tired," Harry told the Dark Lord. Using the once again dead rabbit as a pillow, he fell asleep straight away.

When he woke, the room was as it had been before the obliteration.

He was no longer laying on a dead rabbit, much to his relief. He was appalled at how morbid he was in that state. Instead, he was lying on a rather soft pillow.

He looked up at the Dark Lord, who was shuffling paper work at his desk.

"That was interesting. And you were right, you were quite offensive. Take a seat," Harry was about to tell him that there was no seat to take, when he conjured one before he could say anything.

He took the seat and crossed his legs.

"Yeah, that happens," Harry felt oddly ashamed of himself. Though he knew that he really had no control over himself.

"But you asked for it." Harry defended himself.

"Hmm, I suppose I did." Harry rubbed the back of his neck.

"Anyway, what's your opinion? What the hell is going on?" Harry asked.

"You mean you don't know? I thought you would. I was theorizing, and the only thing that I could think of is that you were born a true necromancer. And that when I attempted to kill you, for some reason, I think that Death gifted you." Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Well, I suppose it has some merits. I can't think of anything else, either. But why would Death gift me?" The dark lord shook his head.

"That's what I don't know," It was Harry's turn to shake his head.

"Is there a way to, I don't know, talk to Death?" Voldemort pulled a face.

"I don't know, you could try dying," The Dark Lord suggested.

Harry grinned. "Well, I'll die,"

The Dark Lord's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"You'll die, will you? And then what?" Harry smiled again.

"Didn't you pay attention to The Prophesy? It basically say that were immortal," Harry said.

"It doesn't say that at all. Not really. There could very well be a loophole. And prophesies are very subjective. But if that's what you want, go ahead. I could do it for you, if you like." Harry nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. Whenever you're ready." Voldemort shook his head.

"You are insane."

Harry smiled.

"I'm going with my instincts on this." Voldemort raised his wand and Harry took a deep breath in.

"Avarda Kedavera," The world faded to black.


	11. Talking with Death

_(A/N ohai. One of you asked if the Darkness is gone now because Harry died. Damn it, how dare you catch on too my plot, bluekat5! And no, guys, he's not dead, this is necessary! You'll find out why :) Anywho, I'm not sure fully how horcruxes work, but lets just assume that all soul pieces snap back to the original owner. Little spoiler there, but oh well. Oh, and the Ginny-one shot is up and running. Click it if you have nothing better to do, I think it turned out all right. Also, closing in on six thousand views. So I'm pretty close to melting into the floor. :D)_

When Harry opened his eyes, he wondered why he bothered. There was nothing to see. He couldn't even see himself.

"I was wondering when you would come to see me again." A voice said.

"Again? Are you Death?" Harry asked. His voice didn't seem to come from where he thought his mouth was.

"Yes. You came to see me once, you were rather small." Harry nodded his invisible head.

"Yeah. Did I say anything interesting?" Harry laughed.

"No." Death said. Harry could tell he had a good sense of humor.

"So, I was wondering. Do you know anything about this whole me bringing things back from the dead thing?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I do." Harry waited. Death said nothing more.

"Could you tell me?" Harry pressed.

"Yes." Harry repressed an urge to roll his non-existent eyes.

"Now?" Harry tried to keep respect in his voice. This was Death after all.

"Yes. You have a great destiny in front of you. I knew of The Prophesy. Then you were here, for no more than an instant. I gifted you, to help you on your way. I watched you. You had another soul stuck too you. A Horcrux. Tom Riddle's. It is gone now." Harry's eyes bulged. Figuratively.

"The Darkness?" Harry squeaked.

"Yes." Harry couldn't even think straight.

"It, it was Tom Riddle's soul?" Harry was absolutely appalled, really. Since he was one, he had been carrying around a piece of Voldemort.

"Yes. He didn't know about it. I don't believe that he would have sent you here if that was the case." Harry paused, then asked.

"So, it's gone? For good?" Harry felt oddly sad about that. But that was what he had wanted, wasn't it?

"Yes. It has gone back to it's original owner." Harry frowned.

"So, no more super learning?" Harry wondered.

"No." Harry was rather disappointed by that.

"I remember it telling me that it would be gone if I died. I didn't even think about it. I just wanted to know about the Necromancy." Harry frowned.

"What about the first time Voldemort tried to kill me? The Prophesy wasn't set then, why didn't I die? Dumbledore said it was because my mother loved me. But that doesn't seem right. I mean, how many mother's have loved their children and lost them anyway?" Harry asked.

"The Prophesy was set into play the moment you came into existence, Tom Riddle could never kill you." Harry frowned.

"Why is Dumbledore trying to get me to kill Voldemort? I mean, what, is he pinning all his hopes on the chance that we might kill each other at the same time?" Harry thought that was incredibly stupid on his part.

"I cannot say." Death replied. Harry sighed.

"Well, how about the fact that this time around, Voldemort didn't explode when he killed me?" Harry asked.

"The first time, you weren't accepting of your death. No one year old is. You reacted rather violently. You and Tom Riddle are a volatile pair, to say the least. The slightest wrong move could cause an explosion, quite literally." Harry was on information overload.

"Your time here is almost up." Death told him.

"I still have a heap of questions, though," Harry rushed.

"What side do I choose?" Harry asked.

"You already know." Death replied.

He felt a feeling not dissimilar from being Portkeyed.

He slammed back into his body and took a deep breath in.

"I take it, it didn't work, then." The Dark Lord said.

"You'll never believe the shit I just found out," Harry said at the same time.

"What?" They said.

"I was a Horcrux," Harry blurted before they could talk in unison any more. The Dark Lord's eyes bulged.

"What! How?" Harry had never seen him anything but composed.

"Yeah when you tried to kill me a bit of you fell off and got stuck on me. What's a Horcrux, anyway?" Harry asked.

"It when someone breaks of a bit of their soul and puts it in an object to ensure that they can be brought back if they are killed. A piece of them lives on the object. The diary was a Horcrux." The Dark Lord seemed deep in thought.

"You ok over there?" Harry asked.

"You look a little pale." Harry laughed at his own joke.

"You aren't funny." Voldemort told him.

"I've never heard of a human being a Horcrux. No one has ever been so stupid as to put a piece of themselves in something so temporary. Were there any side effects? Did anything odd happen with it?" Harry shook his head, not ready to tell the Dark Lord how much contact he had had with his soul.

"Well, it is a loss. But a small one. We can't die, anyway, obviously." The Dark Lord said. Harry smirked.

"Want me to cast the killing curse on you and see if it works both ways?" Voldemort shook his head.

"There's no need for that. Have you ever even cast the killing curse?" Harry shook his head no.

"Well it's unlikely you'll get it first try." Harry snorted.

"I got the Crucio on the first try." Voldemort raised his eyebrow.

"Didn't Bellatrix tell you? I made her scream like a bitch." Harry laughed.

"Bellatrix? She's not an easy one to hurt." Harry grinned in response.

"Must have a strong magical core. Moving on, did you learn anything about your necromancy?" Harry nodded.

"Yeah. Death gifted me because apparently, 'I have a great destiny,' he gave it to me to help me on my way." Harry grinned.

"Pretty cool right? What did you mean when you said that it didn't work?" Harry asked.

"Oh. You were only gone for a second, if that. I thought that it hadn't worked." He said.

"Huh. I had a full on huge conversation with him. Time must be different there." Voldemort nodded.

"What was it like?" He asked.

"It was like, nothing. There was nothing there. I couldn't even see myself." Harry told him.

"Well, I should let you go, then. Apologies for the kidnaping." Harry laughed.

"Warn me next time, yeah?" Voldemort nodded.

"Only if you don't resist." Harry laughed.

"That doesn't make sense. How do you know if I'll resist? You can't warn me and know that I won't resist." Voldemort blinked.

"You're the one here that doesn't make sense." He said.

Harry sighed.

"Whatever I'm tired. I just died. Give me a break. I'm going." Harry activated the Portkey around his ankle and was yanked back to Hogwarts.

When he got off the floor, he found Ginny sitting on his bed.

"Finally," She said.

"What happened?" She asked.

"With what?" Harry said.

"As soon as I walked into the room, you popped out. What happened?" She asked again.

"Oh, just got kidnaped by the Dark Lord, that's all." Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"What did he want?" Harry grinned.

"He wanted to see me bring something back to life. So I showed him." Ginny laughed.

"That must have been interesting for him. How did he know that you could bring things back?" She asked.

"I told him. I sent him a letter. And then he sent one back with a Portkey that automatically went off if I touched it. Sneaky bastard." Ginny laughed.

"You're too trusting, Harry." Harry snorted.

"Tell me about it. Something else happened too," He told her about his meeting with Death, and how he had inadvertently gotten rid of the Darkness.

"Wow, Harry. I can't believe Death gave you a gift!" Ginny squealed.

"Yeah, me either really." Harry sighed and rubbed his chest.

"What's it like, without it in there?" Harry sighed.

"Empty." Harry smiled sadly.

"Do you think that he could turn you into a Horcrux again?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know. Haven't really thought that far ahead yet." Harry said.

"Would you?" Harry thought about it, and decided that yes, he would do it. In a heartbeat. But only for the accelerated learning, he thought to himself, and nothing else.

As Harry lay in bed that night, he poked and prodded at the hole the Darkness left behind. He wondered why the Darkness hadn't warned him. It would have known that Harry had forgotten about it.

Maybe it wanted to go back to Voldemort. To Tom. As Harry poked at it, he realized that he missed it, quite a lot.

He wondered if the Dark Lord would consider making him a Horcrux again. Not without a price, no doubt.

When Harry woke the next morning, Dumbledore finally summoned him about his sudden disappearance. Harry sighed and made his way to his office, not looking forward to the backlash that he had been expecting.

When Harry entered, he noticed that both Mcgonagall and Snape were there. Harry frowned.

Fantastic. Just what he needed, Snape.

Snape eyed him suspiciously, and Harry glared right back. Harry worried that Snape might know that he had been doing dark magic. He cringed when he realized that he most likely did. If Harry had gotten the information from low ranked Death Eaters, he likely knew.

Harry gulped. Maybe this wasn't about him running away. His fight or flight reflex started kicking in. Run or fight? Or stay and listen? He decided it was a much better plan to at least find out what this was about, instead of jumping to conclusions, as he so often did.

"Sir," He said stiffly as he sat down.

He eyed Snape, and decided to enter the man's mind. He started the spellwork and found that it was much harder without the Darkness. Just another reason he so regretted his rash decision.

"Hello Harry. I did mean to talk to you sooner, but I was otherwise engaged." Harry nodded stiffly, still trying to get the spell to work without actually hissing.

"This is about your disappearance. You were supposed to be at your family's home, replenishing the wards. The wards are fine, you'll be pleased to hear, but I do not condone what you did." Harry relaxed slightly.

"You ever met the Dursleys?" Harry asked with a little too much venom. He was starting to reach into Snape's mind.

"Yes, I have." Dumbledore was frowning, and Harry immediately backpedaled.

"Sorry, sir. Bad day." Dumbledore nodded.

"Might I ask where you went?" The Headmaster asked. Harry thought about it. It needed to be innocent. Something a teenage boy would do.

"Well, professor, I kind of met someone." He tried for sheepishness.

"Oh did you now?" Dumbledore took the bait.

"Yeah, um, we stayed together for a bit. Sorry I didn't tell you. I kind of thought that you would take me back to the Dursley's." Harry lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck for effect.

"That's quite alright. I know how young love can be. But if you ever feel the need to run of again, please let someone know." Harry was met with Snape's incredibly impressive Oclumency walls.

And he slipped right through them.

'_Can't believe he's betrayed them. What will I do if he does? I made an oath to Lily that I would protect her son. If he goes to the Dark Lord, I must follow. But the Dark Lord will never trust me. Neither will Potter.' _

Harry's eyes bulged and he turned to Snape.

"What in the holy name of fuc-" Harry began. Snape's eyes bulged slightly.

"Harry?" Dumbledore interrupted.

"Oh, um, sorry, I'll never run off again. Scout's honor, but I kind of have to go now." Harry stood and turned toward the door.

"I'll talk to him," He heard Snape say to Dumbledore.

Harry rushed down the stairs and let Snape follow. When he was a safe distance from Dumbledore's office, he spun on his heel.

"What the fuck was that, Snape?" Snape glared.

"That's Professor to you, and I have no idea what you are going on about, Potter." Harry threw his hands up in the air.

"I read your mind. What does that mean, 'you made an oath with my mother?'" Snape's eyes widened.

"How did you do it?" He asked.

"You bloody answer me first!" Harry all but shouted.

"Fine. It's exactly what it sounds like, Potter. I made a promise to your mother that I would look out for you." Harry snorted.

"Doing a bang up job there, Sevvy. I used Parselmagic." He answered. Harry turned and walked away.

"But I didn't hear any hissing." Snape called.

Harry flipped him the bird.


	12. But it's better if you do

After three days, Harry was at the end of his tether. He had no idea how he dealt with life before. He was failing magnificently in almost every class, except potions. He felt constantly lethargic and Hermione watched him smugly all the time, as if to say, 'yeah, I knew it was a fluke.' Harry snarled openly at her now, not giving a shit about trying to fake it.

Ginny was the only one he could talk to about it. Besides his and Malfoy's odd relationship, there was no one else to talk too.

Harry felt insanely weak without the Darkness. And he hated himself for it. Who needed a voice in their head to complete simple spells? He felt weird using his wand. Even with it, he could barely perform a proper spell. Just like before.

He had cast some dark spells, and was happy to say that they turned out just fine. But that didn't help him while in school. Even with the Darkness he still had to put a lot of time into his school work.

He sought Ginny's help a few times, but everything she said was like gibberish.

He could only think of one thing to do at this point. He had to get it back. No matter what the Dark Lord made him do for it. He had told himself, as soon as the Darkness was gone, that this was what he wanted.

Apparently, he was wrong. Though he wasn't going to admit it, he missed it. Not just because it made everything easier, but because he simply missed its company. Ginny had guessed while they had been in the Room of Requirement, she had noticed that, for the thousandth time, Harry was running his hand back and forth across his stomach.

"You're acting as if you're mourning, Harry. You miss it, don't you?" Harry shook his head vehemently.

"No,"

Ginny laughed. "You do. You might as well admit it." Harry didn't reply.

Though he knew, at this point, he wasn't going to be able to take it much longer, he also knew that he couldn't just pop into the Dark Lord's hideout randomly. Anyone could be there. And he could hardly disillusion himself anymore.

He decided to send a letter, but he almost couldn't stand the thought of waiting. When he finally figured that he had no other choice, he sent the letter. He tried to make it seem slightly urgent without seeming desperate.

It took two days for the reply. And by that time, Harry had nearly lost it. He had almost physically attacked Hermione three times. All in one day. The reply came late at night, and Harry was glad that he had been lying awake.

He read the letter quickly and grinned when it said that he could come anytime between now and morning.

He straight away activated the Portkey, and without even skipping a beat, he got up and took a seat across from the Dark Lord.

"I need the Horcrux back." The Dark Lord smirked.

"I did wonder when you would request that." Harry raised his eyebrows.

"You knew I would, did you?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I did." He said.

"How?" How would he have known that?

"Can't say." Harry frowned.

"Whatever, are you going to do it or not?" Voldemort made a sound not dissimilar to a laugh.

"You know that someone has to die?" Harry waved his hand.

"At this point, I don't care." Harry told him.

"You surprise me. I knew you were experimenting with dark magic, but I didn't think you would come to think of people as disposable so quickly." Harry laughed.

"I surprise you? You have no clue what I'm capable of." He laughed again.

"So are you going to do it, or not?" He asked.

"Maybe, but not for nothing." The Dark Lord replied.

"I knew you would say that."

He frowned. "Well, nothing is free."

Harry groaned.

"What do you want, then?" Harry thought he might as well cut to the chase.

"You. On my side. See, I've thought about it, and your necromancy powers will come in very handy." Harry laughed.

"That might not even work, anymore. Not without the Horcrux." Voldemort cocked his head.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Ah, it tended to amplify things. When I say things, I mean, everything." The Dark Lord flicked his hand.

"I wouldn't think so. Why would Death give you a gift so easily removed? Try it." Another rabbit was conjured and killed.

"What is it with rabbits and you guys?" Harry muttered.

Harry concentrated and almost hoped that the usual explosion would happen. To Harry's surprise, it did. Though something else happened, too.

As Harry was squirming, he noticed that the Dark Lord was doing the very same thing. Harry wondered if he might have been injured, but it seemed too intense to be an injury. And the Dark Lord could just simply heal himself.

So what was going on? Was Harry still feeding the Darkness? If so, how? Why?

When it was finally over, Harry looked over at the Dark Lord, who was also just getting up. The Dark Lord laughed.

"Is this what happens with you?" He asked. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know. I have no idea what it feels like to be you in this situation." Harry said.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I have a few ideas." Harry told him.

"I can smell colors." Voldemort said. Harry laughed

"What ideas?" He was waving his left hand in front of his face.

"I think I was feeding the Horcrux, though it's now back in you." Harry was feeling much more level headed than he had the last time, and he was slightly disappointed. The Dark Lord, on the other hand, looked completely screwed.

"Feeding? How peculiar. Why ever for?" Harry sat across from Voldemort, who was now cross legged on the ground.

"I don't know. I'd just end up feeling terrible if I didn't. For some reason it doesn't affect me like it used too, though." The Dark Lord just stared at him.

"Anyway, it would get stronger if I cast dark spells." Harry said.

"Well, I feel ridiculous." Voldemort stated.

"Feels funny huh?" Harry had a thought then.

"I'm going to try something," Without warning Harry grabbed the Dark Lord's arm, and cast a simple wordless and wandless silencing charm. And it worked.

"Don't grope me," Voldemort said distractedly. Harry let his breath whoosh out, ignoring Voldemort.

"What the hell is going on," Harry muttered. Voldemort snorted.

"I have no idea, but I'm tired." The Dark Lord promptly fell asleep on the floor. Harry decided to wait, they had a lot to talk about.

Though he was incredibly uncomfortable with the idea that the Dark Lord was passed out on the floor beside him.

Harry was lost in thought when the Dark Lord awoke.

"Let's just forget that ever happened," He said, taking a seat in his chair, and conjuring one for Harry.

"Agreed." Harry said.

"Well, you said something about feeding the Horcrux. What did you mean? You said that it had no effect on you." Harry smiled.

"I lied. It did have an effect. And I think that at the end of it, it started to gain a corporeal form. But I'm getting ahead of myself. It started when I first cast the Crucio on Bellatrix. It all just went nuts from there." Harry told him everything that had happened, not skipping anything, except for Ginny being a necromancer. He didn't want to bring her into it.

"How interesting. Do you intend to get the same soul piece back?" Harry nodded.

"And why is that?"

Harry frowned. "Why do you care?"

The Dark Lord shrugged slightly. "Just curious. Were you attached to it?"

"It's none of your business," He snarled.

"So you are attached. How interesting." Harry got up and went to leave.

"Oh, just one more thing, before you go. Are you going to work for me, or not?" Harry's shoulders slumped.

"Yeah, gave me no choice really, huh?" Harry turned and faced him, his face expressionless.

"When do I start?" Harry asked with mock excitement.

"Tomorrow night. I'll get you a time turner and a more permanent Portkey when you get here." Harry scowled. He hated the idea that he was stuck doing this. He hated the feeling of being trapped. It was a new development in his personality.

It most likely came from his distrust of Dumbledore.

Harry sat down hard on his bed, ignoring Ron. He was still trying to figure out what he was supposed to be doing. Would he be destroying the world by doing this? He felt like he had no choice.

Death had told him that he already knew, but he was sure that he didn't. He had no clue what to do.


	13. First inkling

_(A/N ahhhh. Writers block! Save me! My muse ran off. She probably eloped or something. She didn't even warn me. God damn it. Anyways, imma try and write a chapter, and see how it goes. Probably gonna be a load of crap, but anyway, here goes... Anyways for those of you wondering, Harry might not be getting his horcrux back for a while. Sorry about that but it needs to happen. You'll see why, don't worry. And as of now, chapter one and two have been beta'd and replaced. You don't have to reread, but its much more awesome now, thanks to Kimba Lionheart. :D)_

By mid afternoon the next day, Harry was getting increasingly anxious about his coming meeting with the Dark Lord. He had thought about telling Ginny what had happened the previous night, but decided against it. He didn't want to alienate her, or get her involved. Though she was his only confidant, he knew that the Dark Lord was a dangerous man. Even if Harry hardly acted like it in his presence.

He had no desire to bring Ginny into it. As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, Ginny appeared beside him, beckoning him away from Hermione, who he had been sitting with.

"I need to ask you something important, Harry." She whispered. So he followed her all the way up to the seventh floor.

Once they were sitting in a relatively small sitting space courtesy of the Room of Requirement, Ginny sat across from him, looking nervous.

"I don't really know how to ask you this," She shifted uncomfortably. Harry waited for her to relax, not replying.

"It's about Ron." She began. Harry nodded his head, urging her to continue.

He didn't know what had her so on edge, but he was willing to wager that she was about to ask him a huge favor.

"Could, um. Could you, you know? Do that thing you do?" Harry raised his eyebrows, he wasn't following.

"That whole, erm, bringing things back to life thing?" Harry's eyes widened in recognition.

"Ginny, you know that I would, it's just that I've never tried it on a person before. It might not even work. Ron could just drop dead." Ginny eyed him carefully.

"Do you think it'd be wrong of me to say that I don't care anymore?" Her voice was flat, but he could hear the weight of her suffering in her words. Harry shook his head.

"No, Ginny. I don't think it would be," Harry said quietly.

"I'm just so, so, so done, Harry. There have been so many times where I've just wanted to let the thread go. Just let him die. But I can't, not without at least trying. And you're the only one who can even try to help me." He considered what she had said. He did want to help her, but what would happen if he failed? Would she hate him?

"Ginny, I don't know about this." She stared at him blankly for a moment.

"Harry, truly, I don't care how it turns out. Not anymore. I used to daydream about the day when I would find a way to bring him back. And I was sure that I could, then." The small girl laughed bitterly.

"But now, I just want it over. So badly. I'm just too much of a coward to be the one to let go. So I'm begging you now, Harry. Please, just take it away," Harry had barely heard the last part, for she had broken down into sobs. He enveloped her in his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Ginny, listen. I can take him tonight." She looked up at him, and he had never seen anyone look so grateful.

"Oh, thank Merlin Harry. You have no idea how hard it is. Living for two people. I feel twice as old as I truly am." Harry sighed.

"I might as well tell you where I'm taking him, since you'll probably find out. Hey, can you see through his eyes? Because I've gotten dressed and undressed in front of Ron heaps of times." Ginny snorted.

"Umm. no, I can't see, exactly. I can hear though. I guess the only way to describe it would be, um, it's kind of like infrared, only not. I can sense where people are, and the vague shape of them. It was hard to grasp to begin with." Harry nodded.

"Well. okay. I feel kinda better about that." He grinned sheepishly.

"I'm taking him to Voldemort." Harry added quickly. To his surprise, Ginny just nodded.

"I thought so," She said simply. Harry let go of her and sat up straight.

"Are you serious? How the hell did you come to that conclusion?" She shrugged.

"It wasn't that big a leap, Harry, no matter how much you want it to be." She smirked.

"I knew that you would go there and try to get the Darkness back. And I also knew he wouldn't be willing to give it to you for free. And what's the one thing that you have that's the most valuable? Necromancy." Harry stared at her for a few seconds.

"Whoever said that Hermione Granger was the smartest witch here, has absolutely never had a one on one conversation with you." She laughed, but it dropped off at the end as she got serious.

"Thank you, Harry. You have no idea how much this means to me." Harry nodded.

"It's ok Ginny. As long as you know that this might not work," She smiled sadly.

"Like I said, I don't care anymore."

OoOoO

When he had left Ginny, he sent a letter ahead to Voldemort telling him that he would be bringing his own test subject. He hoped that he would get it before Harry arrived. If not, he would have to explain himself pretty quickly.

He and Ginny decided that should anything go wrong, they would both support the notion that Voldemort had kidnaped Ron. It wasn't as if the Dark Lord was below doing it. And no one was going to accuse them, should worst come to worst.

When it was time to leave, Harry gripped onto Ron's arm, who was 'sleeping,' and activated the Portkey around his ankle. When he fell into the room unceremoniously, the Dark Lord didn't even bat a hairless eyelid. He must have gotten the letter.

"Your test subject is your best friend?" Harry nodded.

"Yeah. Apparently he's been dead for a while. The necromancer keeping him moving asked me to test it on him first."

"How interesting. I once had a necromancer. He was hard to control, and frankly not worth the effort." Voldemort told him. Harry wasn't sure why he was telling him this, but he didn't question it.

"Oh. What happened to him?" Harry asked.

"Azkaban." Voldemort said simply. Harry didn't question further. Ron was still asleep on the floor, and he wondered if Ginny was awake. He couldn't imagine her sleeping at a time like this, and he knew that she was probably listening in. He suddenly felt self conscious, though he wasn't sure why.

"So, where am I doing this?" He asked.

"Wherever you like."

"Well, I could do it in here, but it would be better if you left. Lest the room explode." Harry could have sworn that he saw a flash of disappointment in the Dark Lord's eyes. But he had to have imagined it.

"As you wish. I will not be too far away." When he was gone, Harry turned to Ron.

"Ginny, if you're listening, now would be the time to let go of the thread. If this goes wrong, there's no need for you to see it." He watched as Ron's chest stopped rising and falling.

Harry took a deep breath and let it whoosh out, hard. If this failed, he felt as if Ron's death would be on his hands. Though some part of him knew that it was ridiculous. Ron was already dead. He cracked his neck and pulled his wand out, just in case. He had no idea what was going to happen here. He cast a few cushioning charms on himself, not sure if his magic was going to blast him of his feet again, even though the Dark Lord wasn't in the room.

He let his eyes rest on the dead ginger, no longer shocked at his lack of reaction. He was staring at his dead best friend, but he couldn't muster the emotion needed to mourn him.

He started the relatively easy process of bringing something back from the dead, pushing his morbid thoughts down. He found it was different trying to bring back a human, but not by much. Harry was only a little surprised when Ron stood up shakily. He and Ron stood facing each other for a long moment, and Harry couldn't help the rising pride he felt.

Until Ron let out a war cry that scared even Harry, and ran full pelt at the Boy Who Lived. Harry raised his wand and sent a quick stunner, which didn't seem to affect Ron at all. He started to panic. Though he was almost certain he couldn't die, he could definitely feel pain. And the look of absolute screaming murderous rage on Ron's face wasn't exactly reassuring.

Harry crashed onto the floor when the raging teen slammed into him. He yelped and tried to wrestle him off, but Ron was just too strong. To Harry's surprise, and shock, the red head bit into his neck.

Hard.

"Holy Jesus god damn Christ!" Harry swore. He tried to roll out of Ron's crazed grip, but to no avail.

He could feel a large amount of blood streaming from his neck, where his dead best friend was tearing at it like a rabid dog. Harry kicked and screamed, he hadn't felt pain quite so severe in a very long time. His muddled brain wondered why Voldemort couldn't hear the commotion, because he was making a hell of a lot of noise.

He decided that he had two choices here. Either scream louder, or do the only other thing he could think of. He raised his wand, which was miraculously still in his hand, And cast the only spell he deemed useful.

"Avarda Kedavra!" Ron slumped on top of him as the poison green light filled the room.

Harry shoved the dead body of him, disgusted. He glanced at Ron's face, and noted with a grimace that there was a large chunk of his neck hanging out of the now dead Ron's mouth.

Harry gagged, and the pull on his neck as he did so made him yelp.

"Was that the first time you cast the killing curse?" He heard the Dark Lord's oddly foggy voice in the doorway.

"Mmhmm, mind helping?" The walls spun sharply. Harry wondered if he was going to pass out. It wouldn't surprise him. He didn't hear a reply, but felt himself being lifted from the floor. The walls spun furiously now, and Harry was barely aware of the fact that he was throwing up violently.

The Dark Lord didn't seem to mind as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto Voldemort's carpet. He felt himself being carried up stairs, and then being placed gently on what Harry assumed was a bed.

"_Master, is that supper?"_ He vaguely recognized parseltongue.

"_No, absolutely not. You are not permitted in this room till Harry leaves." _Harry was surprised at the Dark Lord's use of his first name, but couldn't have made a comment if he wanted too.

He felt the wound on his neck sewing itself back together, and he could of sworn he felt a hand run gently through his hair, but before he could be sure, he passed out. Without the pain it was surprisingly easy to let go of consciousness.


	14. Undisclosed Desires

_(A/N hullo. :) my muse appears to be back, so, nother chappy! Yay! This chap is much longer than the others, and it also contains an action scene. Before you get to excited, I suck at action scenes. HP/LV is starting slowly from this point. *collective gasp* I know. I know. Long time coming. And if I have my way it will still take a while longer. Mwahahahaha. Suffer. Anyway I thought I might tell you all that Harry's bonding with Hellion is coming very shortly, so there is something to look forward too. Loooooooovvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeee yyyooooohhhh!_)

When Harry awoke, he was thoroughly confused. He had no clue where he was and there was no one with him.

He sat up slowly, and noticed that he wasn't wearing his glasses. He shuffled over to where he assumed the bedside table would be, and waved his hand over it clumsily, knocking several things to the ground with a crash. He heard a door open, and when he turned his head to look, he hissed at the pain in his neck.

He then remembered where he was.

"I'd appreciate it if you would stop destroying my room." Harry laughed, then realized what the Dark Lord had just said.

"Your room?" Harry questioned the distorted figure in the doorway.

"Yes, my room. I didn't have time to conjure another bed. As you can imagine I don't usually have guests." Harry snorted.

"Where are my glasses?" Harry decided to ignore the fact that he had been sleeping in Voldemort's bed.

"They broke." He said simply.

"Oh. How long was I out?" The room was uncomfortably blurry.

"Nearly two days." Harry spluttered.

"Two days? How did that even happen?"

"I believe that your friend may have had a type of toxin in his saliva," Voldemort told him.

"Wow." was all he said.

"Well, um, do you think you could fix my glasses?" Harry was getting pretty uncomfortable sitting on the Dark Lord's bed in the dark half blind.

"I can't seem to find a large portion of them," he was overcome with the image of Voldemort searching for his glasses.

"Oh. Well. Could you, jeez this is awkward." Harry could have sworn he heard the man snort.

"Awkward? Not at all. You were saying?"

"Err. Couldyouhelpmedownthestairs?" The last part came out like word vomit.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch that." Harry got the idea that the Dark Lord was messing with him.

"Yes you did."

"No, actually I didn't." he could hear the smirk in the Dark Lord's voice.

"Yes you freaking did," Harry snapped.

"You just want me to say it again."

"And what if I do?" Voldemort asked.

"I'm not saying it again," He mumbled darkly.

"Oh, that's too bad. I'll see you downstairs then?" The figure retreated, and Harry yelped.

"Screw you asshole!" He yelled after Voldemort.

"I don't even know where the stairs are! I could end up somewhere you don't want me to be!" Harry waited for a reply, and upon not getting one, he stood and made his way slowly to the door.

"What if I fall down the stairs and die?" He called, and heard faint laughter, which shocked him. When did the Dark Lord laugh?

"You won't die, Potter," Voldemort called back.

"I bloody might hurt myself!" More laughter.

Harry snarled and headed toward the light. He was likely going to fall down the stairs. He admitted to himself that he probably should have asked again. But he felt much too awkward about the whole thing.

When he found the sudden drop of that he could only assume were stairs, he gripped the banister tightly and took a step down. So far, so good, he thought to himself. He got down three more before he lost his footing. He braced himself for pain, and was surprised when it didn't come.

Instead, he slammed into a solid mass that was apparently right in front of him. Who would put that in the middle of the stairwell? It was only when the object that he landed on sharply drew a breath that he realized that he had fallen into the Dark Lord's chest.

While Harry was realizing this, he still had his head buried in Voldemort's chest.

"Jesus Christ!" Harry swore.

"Give me some warning! I'm half blind here!" He removed himself from the Dark Lord. The man said nothing, instead he slid Harry's glasses onto his head.

"Found them," He said simply. In Harry's opinion, his hand lingered to long on his face, which made him feel infinitely uncomfortable.

"Err, thanks." Harry followed Voldemort down the stairs and was led into his office.

The room was spotless, as it usually was. There was no blood, though Harry was sure that there would have been quite a lot. Ron was gone. They sat across from each other, Voldemort summoning a chair for Harry.

"Where'd you put him?" He asked.

"He's in the cellar." Harry nodded.

"Do you think that you'll try again?" The Boy Who Lived thought about it.

"No, probably not. Even if I found a way to control him, what would I do in the meantime? I mean, it could take some work. And while the Order and the Auror's are out looking for him it could prove difficult. Better to just bring him back the way he is and let them mourn." The Dark Lord smirked.

"You're right, it's best to practice on someone that isn't going to be missed." He said.

"While we're on the subject of being missed, I really should get back." Voldemort nodded.

"What do you plan to tell them?" Harry shrugged.

"I haven't thought that far, but I suppose I should come up with something. I could just say that I was sent something that was a Portkey."

"And how does Ron come into it?" the Dark Lord asked. Harry frowned.

"I don't know. He had his hand on my shoulder or something?" it came out more like a question, but the Dark Lord nodded.

"And how did you escape?" Harry sighed.

"I learned to Apparate. I dragged Ron out of the wards and Apparated."

"Hmm. And why didn't I kill you straight away?" Harry's brow furrowed.

"I don't know. Maybe I got out days ago and spent most of my time trying to find a way back to Hogwarts." The Dark Lord nodded.

"And how did you find a way back?" he was getting sick of the twenty questions.

"I don't know. Maybe some wizard found me and recognized who I was. And Apparated me there. Or I finally figured out how to Apparate myself out of desperation."

"Well, you can hardly go back without a scratch on you, how do you normally look after you miraculously escape me?" The Dark Lord smirked.

"Like I've been hit by a truck and been dragged two hundred yards. How do you look after you miraculously escape me?" Harry spat.

"Normally pretty fine." Voldemort laughed.

"Well, we have to make it look like you've been hit by a truck, don't we?"

"Fine. But let's make it fair." You Know Who's eyebrows raised.

"How so?"

"We'll duel."

"This should be interesting," was all the Dark Lord said before getting to his feet.

Harry sprang up and pulled his wand out. He knew he would lose, but this was the best way to make sure he looked fatigued and thoroughly beaten when he got back to Hogwarts. And besides, he was hardly going to let the Dark Lord beat the crap out of him without putting up a fight. He also decided that he might learn something. Before Voldemort even took his stance, Harry fired the first spell.

"Expelliarmus!" Of course, it missed. The Dark Lord laughed and threw one back.

"Incarcerous!" Harry dodged, but barely.

"Incendio!" The flames hit the far wall and he wondered how Voldemort got out of the way so quickly.

"Potter, you'll never get anywhere using those spells,"

'Fine, Harry thought. I won't use them then.'

"Serpensortia!" A huge snake burst forth from Harry's wand, and Harry commanded it to attack. While the Dark Lord was distracted, he took the small opportunity.

"Expelliarmus!" To Harry's surprise, the Dark Lord's wand flew out of his hand. Not so surprising though, was that Voldemort could do wandless magic.

"Crucio!" Harry fell back onto the floor and writhed in pain. Though the Dark Lord didn't hold the curse long.

"Getting serious now, Riddle?" Harry snarled.

The Dark Lord growled and threw another curse. Harry dodged it, though he was getting tired.

"How dare you," Voldemort hissed.

"How dare I what? Call you Riddle? Would you prefer Tom?" The Dark Lord let out nothing short of a roar and set free a barrage of curses that Harry didn't even recognize. Many of them hit. One of them must have been Expelliarmus, because his wand was no longer in his hand. Harry abandoned the idea of trying to retrieve it instantly. Instead, he charged at the Dark Lord full throttle.

They collided, and Harry had the upper hand for no more than a second before the Dark Lord flipped him over, straddling his waist and Holding his arms above his head, snarling. Harry's muddled brain barely had time to register what had happened. He was bleeding from his head, and his left leg felt oddly like it wasn't there. Though he knew it was. He just ran.

He tried to wiggle his arms free, but upon finding that it was futile, and seeing the murderous expression on Voldemort's face, he stopped trying.

"You have no right to call me that," The Dark Lord whispered. Harry shifted, still trying subconsciously to get free. It was then he remembered how much stronger his magic was when he came in contact with Voldemort. And he had only one idea as to how he was going to simultaneously end this and calm the Dark Lord down.

"_Liquida Tenebris_." he wasn't sure why it came out in parseltongue, but it had the desired effect, none the less.

The strange black substance spread faster than Harry remembered, and he watched as the both of them were completely covered. It was much different than the last time he cast it. He could hear flashes of words that he knew somehow weren't being spoken aloud. Strange images shot past his vision before he could even see what they were.

"Harry," He knew that voice. It was his Horcrux.

A small part of him rejoiced. And if he were fully blunt, it wasn't a small part. His whole being buzzed in excitement.

_Are you back? _Harry knew the answer would be no, but he had to ask, regardless. He could feel that the Darkness was still outside himself.

"No, I'm sorry. But you are doing the right thing. No matter what your friends say to you. You must continue on your path." He knew it was right. The piece of Tom Riddle had never, so far, been wrong.

_So, Voldemort is the right side? Why didn't you tell me you were a Horcrux? _Harry's mind couldn't form any of the other questions he had been wanting to ask, but those two were weighing on him the most.

"Yes. I believe so. And I couldn't tell you. I am magically bound to not speak of it. And if I had told you, you would have done everything in your power to kill yourself. I hardly wanted that to happen." Harry felt himself smile.

_What are these pictures that keep flashing past? _He was growing more and more curious about them. While they had been talking he had caught glimpses of the same buildings and people a few times.

"They are my memories," Harry tried to catch them with more vigor.

"You probably won't be able to see them yet." he felt rather disappointed.

_Is this what you told me I wasn't ready for all those other times?_

"Yes. But there is more that you still aren't ready for." Harry could sense a smile coming from the Darkness.

_Why didn't you tell me before the Dark Lord cast the killing curse? I wouldn't have done it. _

"There are a few reasons. One, because you needed to talk with Death. There was no way around it. Two, I knew that a part of you still wanted me gone. Though it is suspiciously absent now," the Darkness laughed.

"And three, I needed to go back to him." Harry sighed mentally.

_Why? _

"For that, there are also a lot of reasons. You will see, though. But right now, our time is running out." 

_What? It's only been five minutes_! Harry was outraged that his time was being cut short.

"Here it has. Out there it has been much longer. It's time for you to go back to Hogwarts. I think you will find you are sufficiently injured." 

_Can I do this anytime I want to talk to you? _He asked.

"That would all depend on Voldemort, really. But yes, if you wish to talk, this is the way to do it." Harry himself falling out of his weird dream state, and wondered if the Dark Lord had been present for his conversation with the Darkness.

Voldemort didn't comment, but he did look really uncomfortable.

"I can Apparate you," He seemed oddly hyper.

"Umm, you sure you can?" Harry wasn't sure about the effect that the spell had on the Dark Lord.

"Of course, don't be stupid." He was almost too fast for Harry to decipher. He then summoned Ron's body and disillusioned himself. He took the form of an old man wearing even older looking robes.

"I can be that guy who rescued you," He then giggled, and Harry's eyes widened. The Dark Lord just giggled.

Giggled.

"Er. Right. Yeah." Harry was rather worried at this point.

"Are you sure you won't splinch us?"

"Of course, don't be stupid." He repeated.

He grabbed hold of Harry's arm, and then reached down and grabbed hold of Ron's neck. Before Harry could voice further objections, they were standing in front of Hogwarts.

Harry didn't even have time to question why he hadn't felt like he was Apparating at all, because when he turned, Voldemort was gone. He sighed and began the long trek up to the castle, dreading more than anything to be the one to tell Ginny that Ron was gone, for good.


	15. Why should I care?

Ginny's reaction was not what Harry had been expecting. She was constantly surprising him. The small teen let out a relieved whoosh of breath, and gripped Harry around the waist. Then she whispered a quiet;

"Thank you," She began crying then, because they were in a room full of people.

They were in Dumbledore's office. Most of the Weasley clan stood bunched together, Hermione was standing next to Dumbledore with misty eyes, which had Harry confused. Was she truly mourning, or was this another of her lies? Mcgonagall, and as usual, Snape, were also present. The latter was eyeing him warily.

Harry was still injured, it seemed no one wanted too, or had thought of, healing him. His leg still felt absent. Harry sighed and dropped into a chair across from Dumbledore. He was the only one sitting besides the headmaster. He hoped the Weasley's would take it as exhaustion and not disrespect. Though the headmaster didn't seem to care about respect.

"You have to tell us what happened, Harry," Dumbledore spoke, the only other sounds in the room were occasional sniffles and sobs.

So Harry told Dumbledore the story that he and the Dark lord had agreed on. He threw in a few extra details, he told them the wizard that Apparated him to Hogwarts had wanted to remain anonymous, that he didn't want to become involved in the war. When Dumbledore asked where the Dark Lord's hideout was, Harry feigned ignorance. He gave them a vague description of a manor located in a forest, he told them that he had no clue if it was even in Britain.

"It's a marvel that you escaped, my boy." The headmaster said when he finished.

"Yeah," Harry forced sadness into his voice, and he had to admit, he was getting good at lying. If he really thought about it, he should have been baffled with the changes he had gone through. But he could only muster a mild curiosity, at best.

"I just wish Ron had been so lucky," He blinked quickly, forcing tears from his eyes.

"Indeed, don't we all," The headmaster's eyes twinkled, and Harry felt the urge to stand up and slap the man fair upside the head. Who had twinkling eyes after someone had just died? Even though the Boy Who Lived couldn't have cared less, at least he wasn't showing it. Harry thought back to all the times someone had met an untimely end, and wondered if the man truly just didn't give a crap about what happened to his pawns.

"Professor, I'm completely exhausted, and my left leg doesn't feel right." Dumbledore nodded sagely.

"You must be, with all you've been through. Why don't you head on over to Madam Pomfrey, and get a proper meal in you. You look positively gaunt. Severus, would you kindly take Mr. Potter to the hospital wing?" Snape nodded stiffly. Harry cringed inwardly. Fantastic. Dumbledore beamed at him as he left, and he again felt the urge to strike him. He nodded at Ginny and her family on the way out. Ginny nodded solemnly, but the others didn't pay him much mind.

Snape didn't waste much time. As soon as they were out of earshot, the questions started.

"How did the Weasley really die? Where were you truly? Aren't you and the Dark Lord in cahoots? Why-" Harry cut of the potions master's tirade.

"Honestly, Snape. It's none of your damn business." The professor blanched.

"How dare you disrespect me?" He snarled. Harry waved his hand in dismissal.

"I've disrespected much worse people than you, Snape. I figured I was on a roll." Snape's face went red.

"You're just like your father!" He spun on his heel and left, cloak billowing. Harry snorted at the man's theatrics.

OoOoO

As soon as Harry opened the door to the infirmary, he sent Madam Pomfrey mad at the sight of him.

"Sit, sit!" She practically shouted. He obliged, and she clucked her tongue.

"Where do we start?" After a half hour of healing spells and potions, and a blood replenishing potion, he was finally left with alone, with a meal that Dobby had excitedly brought him. He had to admit that he was starving.

OoOoO

Harry fell asleep as soon as the lights went out, only to be woken what felt like moments later by Ginny. Harry jumped as she once again hugged him. Only this time it was much more violent.

"Ginny, ow!" She gasped and jumped back.

"Sorry, sorry! But thank you. I feel so much better." Harry eyed her carefully.

"Are you, you know, ok? I mean, um." Harry floundered.

"Harry. You're still a sweetheart. And yes. As awful as it sounds, I'm just relieved. Ron's been dead to me for a long time. But you have to tell me what happened. And when you're done, I need to ask you something." He nodded and obliged. He told her most of what had happened, minus the awkward interaction with the Dark Lord. He did tell her about how he had managed to contact the Darkness, though.

"Wow. You really fought him? Just for show?" Harry nodded.

"That must have sucked for you." She snorted and Harry swatted at her lamely.

"What were you going to ask?" Ginny quickly launched into her question. Harry could tell that the whole time she was bursting to ask.

"When Voldemort said that he had another necromancer, did you talk to him about it anymore than that?" Her words came out in a flurry and Harry had to wait a few seconds for them to sink in.

"Er, no. I didn't, why?" Ginny's shoulders slumped.

"Well, I used to know one. He was my teacher. He just vanished one day. And I was thinking that if Voldemort were to have a necromancer, it would be a true necromancer. And there are only five, that are known. To me, anyway. There are only two known to the rest of the world. And he was one of them. I figured that the odds are pretty high that it's him. So, could you ask? I wouldn't usually ask you another favor so soon, but I really need to know." Harry nodded. It wasn't like it was a particularly hard mission.

"What was his name?" Ginny's brow furrowed.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about him in past tense. His name is Eris Jager." He smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Gin. Do you want me to ask if he's still in Azkaban?" Ginny raised her eyebrows as if to say, 'duh.'

"Yes, Harry. I think that would be necessary information." He rubbed the back of neck.

"Right," Harry muttered.

"Well, I'll let you sleep." She crept back out, And Harry had no trouble falling back asleep.

OoOoO

He managed to convince Pomfrey to set him free the very next morning, which in hindsight, was the best thing he could have done. If he had of waited just a moment longer, all hell would have broken lose. So to speak.

The second best decision he made, was reading Hermione's mind later that morning. He had been simply curious as to whether she was truly mourning Ron. And he found way more than he bargained for.

'_Absolutely can't believe what I heard last night! I have to remain calm, god he's with Voldemort! And so is Ginny! And all that stuff about necromancy! I have to tell professor Dumbledore as soon as I can,' _Harry's eyes widened considerably. She must have been outside the hospital wing. He cursed himself for not putting up privacy wards. There was no way he could let her tell the headmaster. He racked his brain for answers, when one slammed into his thoughts. But could he really do it? It only took him a few seconds to realize that yes, he could, and would do it.

"Hermione, wait right here, I just remembered something," All of decision making only took seconds. She nodded, her eyes wide. Harry knew that she wouldn't stay, She would leave as soon as his back was turned.

That was fine with him, as long as she didn't get far.

He practically flew up the stairs, falling straight on his ass when the ground evened out. Thankfully, his dorm was empty. He pulled his top drawer open, and pulled his snake out.

"_Hellion, were doing the bonding ritual," _Harry Hissed quickly.

"_Hellion?_" And then,

"_Truly?" _Harry was rummaging quickly through his trunk for the Parselmagic book.

"_That's your name. And yes. Around my wrist, quickly. And don't come out till I say." _He stuffed the book in his inner robe pocket.

He then repeated the action of flying down the stairs, and as he guessed, she was nowhere to be seen. He raced out of the portrait hole and headed in the direction of Dumbledore's office, full pelt. He didn't have to go too far before he spotted her, speed walking in the thankfully empty corridor. He pulled his wand out and pointed it at her back before she spotted him.

"Imperio," He muttered quietly. He then changed her direction toward the Chamber that he hadn't entered since second year. He prayed that if he did run into someone, they wouldn't pay any mind to Hermione's glassy stare. Or worse, that she would break free of the spell. He felt her struggling, but the bushy haired witch wasn't even close. He felt giddy about what he was about to do, and wondered what his Headmaster would think if he knew.

Harry laughed.

Upon reaching the chamber, he thanked his increasingly good luck when Myrtle was nowhere to be seen. He knew that he might have to deal with her later, though.

He was careful to close the entrance behind him. He took Hermione's wand and shoved her into the cavernous room, simultaneously releasing the Imperious. She stumbled to the ground and skidded. She propped herself on her elbows and faced him, fear obvious on her face.

"Well, hello dear. You and me, were gonna have some fun down here, don'tcha think?"


	16. Wicked and devine

"Please, Harry, I'm your best friend! I love you! You can't do this!" Harry doubled over laughing.

"Oh, bitch, please. You're no friend of mine. Hardly the best one I've got, either." He said when he composed himself.

"What does that even mean, Harry! We've been best friends since first year! Me, you and Ron." Harry laughed again.

"I've seen your thoughts, don't try and deny it. It turns out you're not as fond of me as you say. And look where that got Ron? I killed him." Hermione spluttered and got to her feet quickly.

"You, you what? How could you! After all he did for you!" She looked as if she wanted to tackle him to the ground.

"Cool your jets, woman. He's been dead for years. I just stopped his existence. It's too complicated for you to understand." that statement, more than anything he'd said so far, seemed to make her the most irate. She finally started running at him, and Harry leaned back slightly to brace himself.

As soon as she came within range, he shoved her back violently. She landed hard on her back, her head smacking into the stone floor. She groaned softly and lifted herself up. The fear in her eyes more obvious than ever.

"Are you going to kill me?" Hermione whimpered.

"Don't be silly. Of course not," Relief flooded her features.

"You're going to kill yourself." Harry added, smirking.

"Wha- what? I'm not going to kill myself!" He snorted.

"Sweetheart, come hell or high water, you're going to off yourself by the end of today." She made an angry snarling noise.

"There's no way it's going to happen, you're not strong enough. So you might as well just let me go." Harry's smile grew.

"Hermione, darling. You have to understand something. I'm not letting you go. It's only preferable that you kill yourself. I'll do it, if the need arises." He said simply.

"So, let's get started, shall we?" Harry let Hellion crawl from his wrist and took the book out and sat it down.

"We'll start with the minor stuff. What do you say?" Harry took his dead ash wand out and pointed it at her. She scrambled away as quickly as she could on her hands and knees, which admittedly wasn't that fast.

"Furnunculus." Harry muttered, and she stopped in her tracks. Angry red boils broke out over her skin.

"Don't move, I've heard those boils hurt if they bust." Hermione let out a distressed mewl. Harry raised his wand again and moved closer to her. Harry put his wand on the bare part of her leg, just above her ankle.

"Incendio." The small fire burned into her skin, and she yelped and crawled away. Hermione then screeched as a large portion of her boils tore open with her quick movement, her skin quickly becoming an oozing mess. She immediately stopped moving.

"Ha! People should use that boil curse more often. Much more fun than a simple binding spell." Harry laughed.

"Hmmm," Harry tapped his wand on his jaw.

"What can we do next?" He pondered.

"We could wash all that disgusting puss of you…" The Golden Boy suggested.

"Aguamenti!" A rather impressive gush of water smashed Hermione into the far wall. Harry could hear her garbled screams and he held the spell for a bit longer than necessary. When he let it go, she dropped to the ground, saturated and red raw. Harry noted that all of the boils had been torn open. Harry mused on the fact that these spells, that most second years knew, could cause a large amount of pain, if used correctly.

Harry got up close once again, kneeling in front of her. This time he put his wand to her pinky finger. She was in too much pain to move away. Harry thought that she was rather weak, he had barely begun.

"Bombarda." He whispered, and her finger exploded, leaving nothing but a small, charred stump. Harry considered it hilarious that all the spells he had used so far were incredibly low level. She howled in agony, trying desperately to get away.

"Whenever you're ready, Hermione, it can stop anytime." He knew she wouldn't give in, not yet. But he offered anyway.

"Never," She snarled, spit flying.

"That's too bad, we could be here forever." Harry sighed, and stood up.

"Flipendo." She flipped backward and her face bashed into the wall behind her. Harry decided it was time to step it up a notch. He pointed his wand at the empty space next to him.

"Sive Cruciamentum." An assortment of muggle torture devices appeared. He had found the spell while in the bookstore in Knockturn, and he was glad he committed it to memory.

"Hermione, love, I'm going to cut your eyelid off now." She stared at him in disbelief, breathing hard.

"Wha-" Harry put a hand up to interrupt her.

"It's all for the best. It has to be done, you see. I'm not ready for my little secret to get out, and I really would rather it if you just died." Harry was almost shocked at his own behavior, and how much he was enjoying himself. But, like so many times before, he just didn't care. She was getting in the way, he needed the Horcrux back. And if she served a purpose in her death, so be it.

"Harry, please," She backed away frantically as he came closer, scalpel in hand. Harry decided he rather liked how she tried to get away, and wondered why so many others decided to simply restrain their prey. It was so much more fun this way.

"Nothing you say now is going to help you. But I don't mind if you beg." He grinned manically. When he closed the gap, he decided to restrain her, though he didn't want to. He wasn't keen on the idea of accidentally stabbing her right through the eye if she wiggled too much.

"Immobulus." she promptly stopped moving, and Harry pinched her left eyelid between his forefinger and thumb. He quickly sliced across the top, smiling as her muffled screams came through the Immobulus spell.

He discarded her eyelid, throwing it over his shoulder. He examined her for a moment, savoring the sight of the blood running down her face, then dropped the spell. She howled in agony, doubling over.

"I was thinking, since you no longer have an eyelid, why don't we just take your whole eye?" She didn't respond.

"Like I said before, whenever you're ready, angel. It can end." He heard a mumbled,

"No." She said shakily. Harry sighed.

"I'm getting a little impatient, but so be it," He went over to the tray of torture devices, picking out a tool that looked not unlike a melon baller. Once again, he cast the Immobulus, not wanting to accidentally kill her.

He crouched in front of her, and let the tool hover over her eye, letting her see it. Her brown orbs spinning frantically in her head. Harry wondered why the spell let their eyes move, he thought it was particularly cruel, letting them see what was going on around them. Not that he minded. He pushed the melon baller slowly into her eye, much slower than he did when he removed her eyelid, barely registering the sickening squelch. He wanted her to give in, and the more pain she experienced, the more likely it was.

Once again, Hermione's semi silenced screams came out of her closed mouth. When he felt the device hit her nerves, he yanked, hard. Her eye came free, still connected by the optic nerve, bringing a spurt of gore with it. He picked up the scalpel that he had previously abandoned, and swiftly cut it out completely. He then released the spell for the second time, and she was positively howling for mercy.

"Will you give up?" She shook her head, but with decidedly less enthusiasm.

"Have it your way," He stood and looked down on her whimpering form.

"Crucio." Harry was getting annoyed, and thought that it was about time to bring out the big guns.

She yowled and arched herself at a ridiculous angle. He let the spell go quickly, planning on slowly increasing the dose as needed, until she gave up.

"What if I pulled out all your teeth, one by one?" He picked up a pair of pliers and waved in the air cheerfully.

"Or I could yank out all your fingernails, but I think we're past that, don't you?" He cast another Crucio and let her writhe for slightly longer.

"Teeth it is." He closed the gap between them, and decided this time, he wouldn't restrain her. She was in too much pain and too exhausted to put up much of a fight.

He pulled her two bottom front teeth at the same time, and she barely had a reaction. Harry smiled. He had to be getting close to her breaking point. He pulled her two top teeth in quick succession, and got a small whimper.

"Are you ready to give up?" Harry said quietly. She didn't respond. Harry took her wand out, and held it in front of her face. She shook her head weakly.

"Crucio." She screamed in agony, and Harry held it longer again. When he let it go, she promptly lost consciousness.

"Rennervate," Her eyes snapped open. He put her wand in her uninjured hand and closed her fingers around it.

"It's so simple Hermione, just two words and it can all be over," Harry whispered soothingly. She brought her wand up under her chin and spat in his direction.

"For whatever it's worth, thank you. You were a good friend, before I found out you actually hated me. I was rather fond of you." Harry smiled.

"Fuck you," She snarled, voice slightly muddled from all the blood in her mouth. He sighed.

"It might be a bit like Russian Roulette, since you've never cast the killing curse." She didn't surprise him when she turned her wand on him.

"No, Crucio. Bad Granger." He said before she could say anything. He let the spell go within seconds, not wanting to knock her out again. He then took her hand and put it back under her chin.

"There you go. Two words, and I'll be very grateful."

"Fuck you." She said again, but with a lot less venom.

"Avarda Kedavra." She muttered half-heartedly.

"No, no, no. Once more, with feeling." Harry instructed. She tried again, and failed once more.

"Just pretend you're casting it on me. But before you get any ideas, if you aim that wand at me again, I'll slaughter your family." Harry said happily.

The third time Hermione Granger cast the killing curse, the room shone green.


	17. Bonding time

_(A/N review replies! Oceane Melgadon, oh, why, thank you! :D. Oceanfur, she totally did. Mwahahaha. Zais Cora, you flatter me! *high pitched giggle*. Jester, my specialty is dry humor :P. HPfan29, lmao, it's funny that that was the one thing you mentioned. Haha. Love you guys! Somethingsable, well, yes. :D Tally Jennifer Youngblood, yup. I love doing that :D. King Lune, yes, yes he is. Finally. Blind Ribbon, she just might, :D And I'm glad you're all as twisted as I am. Hehe. *cookies*)_

"_Ok, done." _Harry hissed at the snake that was still waiting patiently by the book. He realized that he was covered in blood and blanched.

"Ew," He muttered absentmindedly. He picked the small book up and paid full attention too it for the first time. He noted that the ritual was much more simple than he assumed it would be. It only required Hermione's blood, Harry's and Hellion's, mixed together and made into a crude face paint.

Harry grimaced but went over to Hermione's body regardless. He used the melon baller to scrape some of her blood off. He then cast Tergeo on the scalpel to clean it, then nicking his thumb, letting the droplet of blood drop into Hermione's.

"_Okay, Hellion, I gotta get some blood from you." _the snake was small, and Harry worried about cutting too deep or hurting it.

"_That isss fine, ussse the tip of my tail," _He carefully nicked the snake's tail, letting the resulting droplet fall into the scoop. Harry then rechecked the book. There was no way that he was going to go through all of that, then fuck it up. He reread the instructions three times over before he decided that there wasn't much that he really could screw up. He simply had to put a streak of the mixed blood on Hellion's head, then, using the same blood, put a streak on his own forehead, between his eyes.

He scooped almost all of the blood onto his finger, then drew a line with it between the snake's eyes. He then did the same on himself. He sat waiting for a minute, before he hissed,

"_Did it even work?_" Hellion nodded.

"_I believe ssso, I feel, different," _Harry had to disagree. He felt the same, if not weirded out by the streak of blood on his forehead. He raised a hand to wipe it off when Hellion objected.

"_You must leave it until it is done_." Harry raised his eyebrows. He didn't read that in the book. He told the snake exactly that.

"_It isss known to my kind that the connection isss alwaysss better if it isss left until completion." _Harry nodded.

"_Okay, how long will it take?" _he didn't want to be walking around the castle with a streak of blood on his head.

"_It could take a while," _Harry sighed and went to Hermione once more. He pointed his wand at her and banished her body. If he was going to be stuck here, he was at least going to clean the place up. He vanished the blood on his robes, careful to keep his wand below his neck, least he accidentally remove the ritual blood.

He took his previous position in front of Hellion, sitting cross legged on the stone.

"_So,_" Harry began.

"_Remind me what the benefits are,_" he asked.

"_When I'm fully bonded to you, the effectsss are immediate, for both of usss. Your control over your magical core will increassse, but that all dependsss on how ssstrong the bond isss. I'll grow to match your core, and I will continue to grow in the future asss you massster your magic. Your dark magic ssskillss will increase, again, that all reliesss on how sstrong the bond becomess. You will alssso be able to sssee through my eyess, sshould you ever need too._" Hellion finished.

"_Have you ever noticed that you have a lisp?"_ Harry laughed.

"_I do not_," The small snake looked affronted.

"_You do. Say something with an S in it." _Hellion hissed angrily.

"_Nevermind, I'll not tease you about it again. So, what else can you tell me about the bond?_" on the inside, Harry was laughing.

"_Only born Parseltongues can attempt to bond. Anyone who has simply learned the language can not perform the ritual._" Harry frowned.

"_But I wasn't born a parsel_-" he stopped mid sentence.

"Wait a damn second," Harry said in English.

"_If I wasn't born a parseltongue, then why the hell am I still one? I mean, the Horcrux is gone, so, Dumbledore must have lied. Again. God damn it! Then where did the Parseltongue come from?_" He shouldn't have been surprised, truly. It wasn't like the man had never lied "for the greater good," before.

"_I would wager that someone in your family wasss a parssseltongue. It only showsss itssself in wizardss and witchss with a dark core,_" With this new information, Harry would have to investigate his family tree.

Harry sat for what felt like hours, trying to conjure mice for Hellion. For whatever reason, he could never seem to conjure a full one. The results were always grotesque, but Hellion didn't seem to mind that they tended to be inside out. When he noticed that Hellion's size was rapidly increasing, Harry nearly whooped with joy. When the snake got too large though, Harry's face fell.

"_You're huge, Hellion_!" He had grown so large that his circumference was no different to Harry's thigh.

"I_ prefer the term 'big boned,' this is rather impressive, though. Your magic must be strong." _The Golden Boy grinned at the complement, then realized that the snake was no longer drawing out its S' ridiculously.

"_You don't lisp anymore," _He voiced his findings out loud.

"_I never did too begin with,_" Hellion hissed huffily.

"_Sure, sure. Either way, how the damn hell am I supposed to keep you a secret now?" _As soon as Harry finished talking, he noticed an icy feeling right underneath the ritual blood.

" _do not know, master_."

"_I think I feel it now,"_Harry decided to think about the problem of having no where to put Hellion later.

"_What does it feel like?"_ the snake asked curiously.

"_Like, cold. Really, that's the only way I can think to describe it."_

OoOoO

Upon leaving the chamber, Myrtle was still absent, and Harry was extraordinary glad about escaping the whiny ghost. Blood was no longer on his face, which he was glad for. He and Hellion decided it was best to leave him in the chamber, until they came up with a better solution.

He figured that he would tell Ginny what had happened, in minor detail, of course. He didn't want to terrify her, after all. She had been through enough, and he guessed torture probably wasn't one of her favorite things.

He also wondered about his ancestry. If he was a born Parseltongue, then who was it? He didn't recall ever being told about any dark wizards in his family tree, but then again, who would give the boy wonder information like that?

During his musings, he didn't notice the person right in front of him until he walked right into them. She had a magazine in front of her face, and apparently hadn't seen him either.

"Luna, jeez, sorry!" Harry picked the blonde witch up of the floor.

"Oh, don't worry, Harry." She said dreamily. And then Harry remembered the carriage ride months ago, and scolded himself for forgetting. He was supposed to talk to her, and ask her how she knew, and make sure she told no one. But so much had happened, and it had completely slipped Harry's mind.

"Hey, Luna, can I talk to you?" She nodded happily and followed Harry to the seventh floor. She didn't even ask where they were going, and Harry wagered that she already knew. Though as to how she did, Harry could only guess.

When they reached the room of requirement, Luna was the one to walk back and forth three times. Harry raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. When they entered, a massive greenhouse showed itself, filled mostly with plants that he didn't recognize. It smelt beautiful, and Harry took a deep breath in. In the center, there were two wooden stools with no backrests.

"A greenhouse?" Harry asked.

"I've taken quite an interest in Herbology lately," She smiled. The way she said it made it seem like she was saying something entirely different, but again, Harry made no comment.

"Luna, I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now," Harry said, taking one of the stools and seating himself precariously on top. He wondered why she would pick such uncomfortable chairs.

"I know," She told him, taking the other seat and looking perfectly comfortable.

"Err, yeah. Anyway. Remember the carriage ride? I was wondering how you knew, um." Harry couldn't quite bring himself to say it.

"Knew that you were doing dark magic?" She supplied.

"Yeah," Harry was whispering, though he knew he didn't need too. One of the plants reached out and slapped him lightly on the face. Luna laughed.

"It was in your aura. You've always had a dark one, it just got darker. It looks different now, too. Did you kill someone, Harry?" She asked it as if she was asking if he would like one sugar or two. Harry spluttered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said huffily.

"You did." She told him. Harry didn't bother arguing with her. If she knew, so be it. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to do the same thing to her that he did to Hermione. He was quite fond of Luna, but he would do what he had too, to protect himself. The thought still made him squeamish.

"So, you see people's auras, huh?" He changed the subject.

"Yes. And you should know that you're doing the right thing. You were never on the right side."

Harry frowned. He had no clue how she would know that just by looking at his aura. He told her so.

"What, are you clairvoyant now too?"

She smiled her lazy smile.

"Only a little." Harry shook his head.

"What aren't you, Luna Lovegood?" The blonde laughed musically.

"I'm not a liar," She told him, and he hoped she was right.

Harry smiled.

"Well that's good, then. You haven't told anyone, have you?" She shook her head no.

"It's not my business." she said. He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. The way she said it made him feel safer, but he still needed to know for sure.

"Well then I'm sure you won't mind if I read your mind then?"

"Of course not, Harry, go ahead. I've always wanted to see a Parseltongue spell." Harry didn't even bother with being shocked. He started the complicated hand movements, and even added the Parseltongue, to sate her curiosity, though he didn't need too. Harry's Parselmagic felt different, much more stable. And Harry found himself watching Luna's memories of the entire year flashing through his head, incredibly fast. He found nothing incriminating, and he was so happy that he didn't have to kill her. He pulled himself out of her mind.

"Ok. Well that's it, I guess." Harry stood and shook of the pollen that the odd plant that slapped him earlier had somehow left on him. He turned and frowned at it, and the strange plant waved cheekily back.


	18. Grand plans

_(A/N. review replies! Yay! Oceane Meldagon, you're in it again! Haha. Nastiface, you make me laugh every time you review. Like, every single time. :D Oceanfur, me too actually there was so much else going on, it completely slipped my mind. Lol. Miss C Riddle, I have read most of the good Dark!Harry fics, and I decided there wasn't enough. It turns out I love writing them as much as I do reading them. (I'm disturbed, obviously.) To everyone else who reviewed, you flatter me :P *throws cookies like confetti,* Feed my pretties! FEEEEDDD.)_

"I bonded to my snake." Harry said conversationally.

"Did you now," The Dark Lord didn't look up from the paperwork on his desk.

Harry had decided that he would go back after talking to Ginny. She had insisted, and since Voldemort didn't specify when to come back, or give him a Time Turner or a new Portkey, he decided that he would just pop in. Just before he left Hogwarts he had checked the Marauder's Map, and saw himself coming back, so he was obviously going to get a Time Turner this time. Luckily, there was no one else present when Harry landed face first in the Dark Lord's workspace. Though he would love to see the looks on the Death Eater's faces at the appearance of Harry Potter. Oh, hi. Just here for tea and biscuits.

He had told Ginny about what he had done, (in a round-about way) and while she didn't approve, she understood his reasons. She then immediately changed the subject onto Eris, her necromancy teacher. Harry had asked her what exactly she was going to do if Eris was still alive. She simply said,

"Break him out." This rather shocked Harry, how exactly was she planning to do that? And why was he so important? Harry was worried that she would get caught, so he decided he would do whatever he could to keep her out of danger, because Ginny was one of the only people he had trusted with his secret.

But he wasn't keen on the idea of breaking into Azkaban. And that was where the Dark Lord came into it. Harry figured if he had agreed to serve the Dark Lord indefinitely, just for a Horcrux, which wasn't that hard a thing to do, that he deserved an extra incentive or two. After all, Harry had, in fact realized that Voldemort hadn't specified how long exactly Harry would be in his service.

It was all very Slytherin of him. Though Harry decided he didn't mind. For whatever reason, the gaping hole in his solar plexus was completely absent in the presence of the Dark Lord. So the more he was in Voldemort's presence, the better.

"Yeah," Harry finally replied.

"Who did you use?" He asked, still not looking up.

"Hermione Granger," Voldemort's head shot up and he eyed Harry carefully.

"Your best friend?"

Harry snorted, and told him about what he had found in her head. The Dark Lord nodded knowingly.

"Most people aren't what they seem." Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he remained quiet. Harry took the Parselmagic book out of his inner robe pocket, and turned it to a random page, and it contained a spell that turned your opponent inside out. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, until Voldemort broke it.

"I have a theory about your dead friend," Harry looked up.

"Hermione?" He asked. What kind of theory could he have on her?

"No, the other one," The Dark Lord frowned at him in disdain.

"Oh. Right. Carry on." He felt his ears going red.

"I believe that the longer someone is dead, the harder they are to bring back. This is all guess work, of course, but I think that your Ron Weasley didn't, in fact, appreciate being brought back from where ever he was."

Harry made a 'hmm' noise in the back of his throat.

"So how long is too long?" He asked.

"I do not know. I propose we carry out an experiment. We will conjure one rabbit, and kill it. We well wait one day, then you will bring it back. Then we will wait two days. And so on and so forth." The Dark Lord said.

"Wouldn't it start to stink?" Harry asked.

"No, idiot. We'll use a stasis charm." Voldemort looked exasperated.

"Ohh. My bad," Harry grinned sheepishly.

"I believe you need lessons in magic. Though you have a strong magical core, you aren't very knowledgeable. You almost seem to forget you are a wizard."

Harry frowned.

"I do not." He spat childishly.

"Hmm. We'll talk about it when you're not feeling so immature. Right now, we'll get started on the experiment."

Harry nodded, feeling more than a little moody. No one could make him feel stupid quite like You Know Who. Another rabbit was conjured and killed, and strung up by the ankles in the corner of the Dark Lord's office. Harry wondered what the Death Eater's would think of the odd trinket.

He snorted at the thought. Voldemort looked at him strangely, but didn't comment.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," Harry said. If he didn't know better, he would have said that the Dark Lord looked hopeful.

"About that necromancer you mentioned." He must have imagined it, because Voldemort's face was now completely stoic, as it usually was.

"And what's that?" He asked.

"What was his name?" Harry found that he was holding his breath. He knew that this greatly affected Ginny, though she was trying to hide how she felt about it, he could tell it meant a lot too her.

"Eris, why?" Harry grinned.

"Do you know if he's still alive?"

"I believe so. I do not keep tabs on him. Though, last I heard, he was alive."

"Has he been kissed?" Harry hoped that the Dark Lord knew what he was talking about. He didn't want him to think that Harry was asking after Eris' private life.

"No. He wasn't imprisoned for necromancy."

"Well, then I have a favor to ask of you."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed.

"And what is that?" He asked, a dangerous look gracing his features.

"I want you to help me get him out," Harry said in a rush.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because you never specified how long exactly I would be working for you. And since making a Horcrux isn't a hard thing for you, I don't think it's a very fair trade."

Voldemort smirked.

"You picked up on that, did you? Then why did you say yes?"

Harry shrugged. That was a conversation for another time.

"So will you do it?" Harry pushed.

"I don't see why not. I was planning a raid on Azkaban anyway. You can just pick him up on the way."

Harry blinked.

"Wait, what? What do you mean 'I can pick him up on the way?' I'm not going. When I said 'help me get him out,' I basically meant, 'can you do it for me?' Cause there's no way I'm breaking into Azkaban." Harry said.

"Well that's too bad." Voldemort smirked.

"Wait a minute, you can't just say you won't do it. It's not that hard, just get one of your followers to scoop him up or whatever. Why do you want me to go so badly?"

"Because I think it would be a good opportunity for you to become acquainted with the other Death Eaters. And I would like to see you duel now that you are bonded with your snake. It will be good practice." The Dark Lord looked awfully satisfied, though Harry hadn't even agreed.

"What makes you think I'm going to say yes?" Harry crossed his arms over his chest.

"Because you still have that infuriating hero complex, however twisted. And I have a theory that you aren't doing this for yourself. You seem to go above and beyond for those you care about."

"Hmm. You act an awful lot like you know me," Harry muttered darkly.

"Do we have an accord?"

"Fine. Yes, we have an agreement. I suppose it's not like I can die in there." Harry said begrudgingly.

"For all your whining, it seems I do know you." Voldemort raised his eyebrow as he spoke.

The Boy Who Lived said nothing more. When they were done for the night, the Dark Lord gave him his new Time Turner, which he had expected. He also got something he hadn't bargained for.

"This is essentially a dark mark," Voldemort began, holding a ring that looked like a coiled snake.

"It also acts as a ortkey. When I require your presence, it will heat up. And it also appears as a simple black band to anyone you haven't told about it."

Harry nodded and slipped it on his finger, watching the snake begin to move, adjusting in size.


	19. Cranky Potter is cranky

Harry arrived back at Hogwarts not long before he left. He was still incredibly confused by Time Turners, but as long as he didn't run into himself, he was cool with it. As soon as he walked back into the Gryffindor common room, Neville stepped into his line of sight.

"Hey, Harry, have you seen Hermione? She said she was going to help me with my potions assignment." So there it was. Someone had noticed.

"Erm, no. I haven't seen her since this morning, really. We had a bit of a tiff. She's probably off somewhere fuming about it." Harry gave his best golden boy smile.

"Well, yeah, but she never stays out after hours, she would get in trouble." Harry felt the need to correct Neville, that yes, in fact, Hermione did leave the common room after lights out, on occasion. Harry couldn't count the times that they had snuck out, or broken a few rules. 'For the greater good, of course.' Harry fought the urge to scoff and decided to look thoughtful instead. He couldn't really postpone anyone finding out about the frizzy headed witche's disappearance, nothing would be more suspicious.

"Hmm. Yeah, you're right. I'll go and look for her," Harry knew that going and getting a teacher in this situation would be highly out of character for his old self. So he planned on simply getting caught by one of the heads of house's or a Prefect. Then he could tell them he had been looking for Hermione, and then put on a concerned face. 'Honestly, professor, I'm really worried. She never came back to Gryffindor tower, what if a Death Eater got her?' The boy who lived snorted quietly. So far, it had been so easy to lie to these people. He hadn't brought his invisibility cloak with him, after all, how was he supposed to get caught while invisible?

If there was any evidence of what he did, it was in the chamber. And that suited him just fine. The only two people who could get in there were him and the Dark Lord. And if someone were too ever get in there, they wouldn't find a body. The only thing that he was truly worried about, were the security measures that were likely to come into play when Hermione was confirmed missing. A student kidnaped right out of Hogwarts would likely cause a stir. And some parents would definitely take their children out of school. And Harry knew it would make it much harder to blend in than it already was.

It only took around ten minutes to get caught, and Harry was glad that it was Mcgonagall that found him. She was much less likely to just punish him and send him back to bed.

"Professor," Harry squeaked, trying for surprise.

"I didn't see you there," He added.

"What are you doing outside of your dorms, Mister Potter?" Her voice was haughty, as usual.

"Um, I was looking for Hermione, you haven't seen her, have you?" Harry asked, with what he hoped was concern gracing his features.

"You mean to say that you have not seen Miss Granger?" The worry spread from Harry's face to hers.

"No, professor, not since this morning. We had an argument, and I thought that she was just avoiding me, but she never stays out after hours."

"Come with me, we will see the Headmaster immediately." Harry followed her, fighting the urge to pump his fist in the air in victory. Either Harry was a brilliant deception artist, or these people were far more stupid than he had imagined.

When they reached Dumbledore's office, Harry made sure to strengthen his mental walls. He also quickly threw together a memory of himself and Hermione having an argument about homework. It was hardly uncommon for her to complain about something academic. Harry hoped it would be enough, he didn't have much time to prepare, after all.

"Minerva, how are you this fine evening?" He heard Dumbledore's overly pleasant voice from his place on the spiral staircase. The man obviously hadn't seen Harry yet.

"Quite fine, Headmaster. But I found this one out of bed, and he claims that he has not seen Miss Hermione Granger since this morning,"

Harry poked his head out from behind Mcgonagall then.

"Oh, my dear boy, is this true?"

The Boy Who Lived nodded solemnly, eyes wide.

"Well, we must find her. Minerva, please alert the other Professor's. We must begin a school wide search. Harry, lad, I suggest that you return to your common rooms and wait for any news."

Harry then felt the telltale prodding in his mind. He had wondered when it would happen, and he put the false memory on full display, doing his best to distract the man from the massive walls. He knew that if the headmaster even caught a glimpse of them, there would be trouble.

Harry resisted a sigh of relief when the headmaster sent him on his way. While walking back, he heard a familiar snake like voice.

"_Master, I found tunnels. They go everywhere._" Harry could hear the excitement in Hellion's words and grinned.

"_All the better to keep an eye on everyone,_" The Golden Boy hissed under his breath.

"_Hellion, if you hear anyone talking about me, I want to know. Also, we're going to be leaving the castle at some stage. I'm not sure when, but I think it will be soon. So I reckon it's a good idea to get some practice in with this whole 'bond' thing."_

"_Yes, master."_

"_Good. I'll see you tomorrow morning, hopefully. Wait for me in the main chamber. If I don't show up, it's likely because of the whole Hermione thing." _Hellion gave an affirmative hiss, and Harry continued too the Gryffindor common room.

OoOoO

Harry woke several hours later. He had fallen asleep on one of the common room's couches. Neville was still asleep across from him. He had told the Gryffindor the night before that he was going to wait in the common room for news, and the other boy had decided to join him. Either there was no news on Hermione, which he was sure was the case, or they just hadn't bothered to wake him.

He took his Holly wand out of his pocket, casting Tempus. It was five thirty in the morning, and Harry decided to take advantage of the early hour to sneak out. He crept into his sleeping quarters, unlocking his trunk and grabbing several items. His invisibility cloak was first, then the marauder's map, followed by his Time Turner, Parselmagic book and his Dead Ash wand.

He threw the cloak over his head and snuck past Neville, who was snoring loudly. If everything went his way, he would be back here and asleep on the couch a few seconds ago. His mind boggled at the confusing mechanics of time travel. He made sure that he took a different route to the chamber than he would when he went back. So he didn't run into himself on the way there. He checked the map, and sure enough, he was once again in the Gryffindor common room.

OoOoO

Harry sat with crossed legs on the chamber floor. Across from him, Hellion was curled up. He had thankfully missed Moaning Myrtle once more, but he didn't know how long his luck would last. If the whiney ghost did catch him down here, she would no doubt tell Dumbledore as soon as she could. He wondered if there was a spell that destroyed ghosts. As usual, Harry wished for the Darkness. It would have had an easy solution.

"_What troubles you, master?'_" Hellion asked, raising his head higher, so that it was level with Harry's.

"_Just this ghost that haunts the entrance here. If she ever saw me leaving or arriving, Dumbledore would know straight away."_

"_You could simply exit somewhere else,"_

Harry stared at the snake, not comprehending.

"_What?" _He voiced his confusion.

"_Exit somewhere else," _The snake repeated slowly.

"_The tunnels are rather large. You would fit." _Harry blinked dumbly. Of course he would fit in those tunnels, the Basilisk was huge. And why hadn't he thought of it before? Of course the snake had to exit somewhere other than the bathroom, it would only make sense. After all, if it did always exit through the bathroom, then Myrtle would have been petrified a hundred times over. It had never happened once. Except for the first time. And she wasn't so much 'petrified,' as she was 'dead.'

"_Wow. I can't believe I never thought of that."_ Harry grinned. This was going to solve a few problems. This, for one thing, meant that he didn't have to worry about where to keep Hellion quite so urgently. He could put it to the back of his mind, and put his attention on to more important things. Like the upcoming raid. On that thought, he opened the book and searched for the section about seeing through the eyes of a serpent.

'The act of seeing through your bonded Fertura's eyes is one of the simplest tasks that one can perform. If you are practiced in Parsel Legilimecy, then the task becomes even simpler.

'_The art of seeing through snake eyes merely requires you to enter your familiar's mind.' _

Harry smirked. He loved it when things were simple.

_'Over time, you will be able to enter the snake's mind from wherever you are, from anywhere in the world. Though it is highly recommended that you don't stray too far from the Fertura._'

"_It says that all I gotta do is enter your mind._" He told Hellion. The snake nodded its consent. Harry found that he didn't even need the hand movements anymore, and was glad for it. He simply had to look the target in the eye. He grinned. This would make it much harder for him to get caught.

Harry found that he was looking at himself. The book was right, it was simple. Hellion's vision was much different than Harry's. If he had to describe it, he would say it was like black and white heat vision. While he was looking out of Hellion's eyes, he was still looking out of his own at the same time. And while the snake was looking at him, it created a loop of images. It was disconcerting. He told Hellion to show him the way out through the tunnels, while he continued to sit on the stone floor. He did want to know the way out, but he mainly sent the snake away so it would stop looking at him.

Harry watched in fascination as Hellion followed the twists and turns of the Basilisk's own highway. It was far more extensive than Harry had imagined, and he realized that he had roughly a half an hour journey ahead of him.

Twenty minutes later, Hellion emerged from behind the statue of Salazar Slytherin. When the snake looked at Harry, he quickly glanced away.

"_Ahh, ok! Stop looking at me! It's so damn weird._"

Harry removed himself from Hellion's mind, and the Boy Who Lived practiced any spell that took his fancy. He found that while being bonded to Hellion did make his magic more stable, he much preferred the explosive and uncontrollable magic that came with the Horcrux. He could barely imagine what it would be like with both.

He left the chamber three hours later and turned the Time Turner three times. He found the tunnel let out from behind another portrait just in front of the Fat Lady. Harry smiled. Talk about convenience.

He woke the portrait and snuck back in, and put all of his belongings, minus the Dead Ash wand back in his trunk. He crept back down the stairs, turning the Time Turner a half turn, so he could combine with his previous self.

He lazed on the couch with his eyes closed, and wondered if Hellion had had to deal with him twice today. He quickly found that it was too confusing to think about. He decided to go back to sleep, thinking that it would add to the realism when they came to wake him. If they even decided too. Harry was fine with it either way.

He was woken the second time that morning by Neville.

"Did they come and see you last night?" Neville seemed slightly frantic, so Harry mimicked his behavior.

"No, they didn't. Maybe there's no news? Do you think we should go ask them?" Of course, Harry thought to himself, the answer was yes.

"Yeah, let's go. Maybe they found her and they're just asking her what happened." The slightly chubby boy said hopefully.

The boy with the lightning scar doubted it.

But he lead them both to Dumbledore's office regardless. Harry repeated the password that he had heard Mcgonagall say the night before.

Upon entering, Harry wasn't too surprised to find that the medium sized office was full to the brim with people. The Weasley's and all the Professors were there, as well as some people he didn't recognize. He and Neville hadn't been noticed yet.

"I tell you, this school hasn't been safe for years! It's best for everyone if the Ministry closes it down." Harry heard one of the men he didn't recognize proclaim.

"Nonsense, the girl probably got herself lost in the Forbidden Forest. She and her friends have been known to do that, correct?" Professor Slughorn shot back.

"They have been. But for Miss Granger to go off on her own is highly unusual. At this stage I think it's safe to say- Ahh, Harry, my boy. Come to join us, have you?" Dumbledore had finally spotted Harry and Neville in the crowd, but he didn't acknowledge the shyer boy's presence. For some reason, this made Harry's blood boil. It seemed that the old man had no use for anyone other than his puppets.

"Erm. Yeah. Professor, what's going on? Have you found Hermione?" Harry asked, and Neville nodded furiously beside him. No one paid him any attention.

"I'm sorry Harry. We've searched everywhere, and we haven't yet found any clues." Even while delivering what appeared to be sad news, the infuriating twinkle never left his eye.

"Well, have you searched everywhere, everywhere? Like, every inch of the Forbidden Forest? Or all the secret passages? Or even Hogsmeade? Have you contacted her parents? She might have just gone home, or something." Harry didn't find it hard to let anger flood his voice. He figured that in this situation, it wouldn't have been seen as odd for a boy to go off his head after losing his two best friends. Through his whole rant, Neville had been nodding his head, as if it would help drive the point home.

"My boy, we are doing everything we can, but you must remain calm." Dumbledore was eyeing Harry with more concern than the boy felt was necessary.

"Hell no, I won't remain calm! What about before, when you didn't know I was in the room, what were you about to say? Huh? Were you about to give up? 'Safe to say,' what? That she's gone? Never coming back?" Harry felt much better, finally letting his anger out at the old man, though he wasn't saying what he so dearly wanted too.

_I despise you. You are a liar and a manipulator, and I should never have trusted you. You will do anything to ensure that you will win, even sacrifice a child. And I am so, so, so very glad that I am going to see you fail. _Harry strongly wished that those were the words he was shouting, but he couldn't lose it just yet.

"Harry, I think that you should take a break. Go and get some fresh air." Dumbledore smiled, but his eyes were no longer twinkling. The warning was clear, and Harry glared at the man sitting calmly at his desk.

"How about I go and find her myself?" Harry stormed down the stairs, and before Neville could even begin to maneuver through the crowd, Harry activated the snake Portkey on his finger, too angry to care if he would be seen by Death Eaters on the other end.

Luckily for him, the Dark Lord was alone in his office, as usual.

"Don't you ever do anything? I mean, aren't you supposed to hold meetings or some shit like that?" Harry blurted.

"Potter," Voldemort greeted.

"And what did I do to deserve one of your ever so welcome visits?"

"You answer my question first. All you do is sit there. I mean, do the Death Eaters do all the work, or what? Do you even control them anymore? Or did they leave you?"

"You seem stressed." The Dark Lord's tone held a warning, but Harry paid it no heed.

"I haven't seen a single Death Eater here, who's to say you aren't just pretending you're still the Dark Lord, when in reality, you're just _nothing,_" The last part came out as a harsh Parseltongue whisper, and Harry was having a hard time reigning in his fury. He knew what he was saying was illogical, at best. And he also knew on some level that it was all Dumbledore's fault. Though Harry should have been glad that he was dealing with Hermione's disappearance so poorly, it had the opposite effect. It had basically shown Harry that he was truly on the wrong side all that time. And he was so enraged by that fact that he couldn't see straight. And yes, he had been aware that he had been on the wrong side, but only on a factual level. This just proved what part of him still wanted to deny. The Boy Who Just Kept On Living was seeing a new side to the man he used to trust, and he couldn't believe his own stupidity or blindness.

Voldemort stood and raised his wand.

"I would advise that you calm yourself." Harry saw the warning, and ignored it completely.

"Oh, go ahead, baldy, I would _fucking love_ a beating." Random words kept coming out in Parseltongue, but he didn't bother correcting it. Harry took the Dead Ash wand from his pocket and pointed it right back at the Dark Lord. To his shock and outrage, Voldemort cast a body binding curse and sat back down.

"You can stay there until you can form sentences in English."

After what felt like hours, Harry felt his anger fizzle out. He let himself relax into the curse, and waited until the Dark Lord noticed he was no longer fighting tooth and nail to get free. It didn't take long, and he got to his feet, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Erm, sorry?" It came out as a question. Voldemort ignored the apology.

"Would you like to tell me why you turned up here furious?" Harry sat in the chair that the Dark Lord had conjured.

"Just Dumbledore. He's not as great as I once thought him to be,"

"That's hardly a shock. But at least you're on the winning team now, hmm?"

Harry snorted. "No offence, but I think that the winning side is where ever I am."

"Awfully sure of yourself, aren't you?" Voldemort made a steeple with his hands and leaned forward.

"Well, yeah. Boy That Lived, and all that. I mean, who explodes when they try to kill someone else? It's just plain nonsense. An infant, no less." Harry was expecting another body bind, or maybe a Crucio, but instead, he got a chuckle.

"Let's not dwell on that shameful memory."

"Shameful? I think it's more legendary than shameful. For me, at least." The Dark Lord leaned closer to Harry and said;

"Moving on," Obviously, his patience for the subject had worn thin.

"Ok, ok. Crybaby." Harry grinned then quickly added,

"When are you planning the raid on Azkaban?" Voldemort frowned, but ignored the first part.

"Two days from now. It's been in the making for a while now, you see. I'm noticeably low on Death Eaters as of late. And quite a few of them are in prison."

Harry let out a whistle.

"Dumbledore is likely to be increasing security around the castle soon. That is, if he has any sense in him. So I might not be able to Portkey out." He smiled sheepishly.

"And I am assuming that this has everything to do with the brutal murder of Hermione Granger?"

Harry let fly a stunning smile.

"It could. Possibly. So what am I supposed to do?"

Voldemort waved his left hand in a dismissive manner.

"That Portkey has been made to override any wards blocking its path," He said simply, and Harry raised his eyebrows.

"If you have this, then why don't you just make a whole heap of them and just storm Hogwarts? Or, you know, where ever?" He asked.

"Because they are terribly hard to create. In fact, that's the only one that I have successfully made. So I suggest you look after it."

Harry's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

"You made it for me?" He was flabbergasted. Why would he make something so rare just for him?

"In case you hadn't noticed, you are a rather rare specimen. I wanted to make sure that you were only ever mere seconds away."

Oh, Harry thought. That makes sense.

"Oh, right. Yeah." They sat in awkward silence for a while, at least, it was awkward for Harry. The Dark Lord had simply returned to his paperwork.

"You might as well stay until it's time to resurrect the rabbit." Voldemort said after a while, pushing a large book in his direction.

"And I think that you should read this while you wait." Harry opened the cover and found that it was another Parselmagic book, though this one was mostly theory, by the looks of it.

After three hours, and an incredibly boring study session, the Dark Lord got up and walked out of the room. Harry stared at the door that Voldemort had just walked out of, and wondered where he was going. He hadn't said a word as he left. Harry sighed and went back to staring blankly at the book, and after half an hour, he found he was incredibly curious as to where he had disappeared too. Harry got up and put his ear to the door, and he heard muffled voices coming from across the hall, and if he had to guess, he would say that there was a meeting going on.

Three times more curious than before, Harry opened the door carefully and snuck out. He pressed himself against the wall and listened. Sure enough, the Dark Lord was addressing the Death Eaters.

"-are we clear?" A murmured round of;

"Yes, my lord," filled the entry hall.

"No questions?" Harry could tell by the tone of Voldemort's voice that there was no room for questions. Someone asked one anyway. Harry recognized the voice as Burley, one of the Death Eaters he had met in Knockturn.

"Is the new recruit 'Arry Potter?" Obviously, the Dark Lord had informed them that there was a new addition to the ranks. Harry waited with baited breath, wondering what Voldemort would say to that. If he said yes, there was likely to be an uproar. If he said no, there would be people who still wouldn't believe it. Harry was sure that Burley would be one of the ones assuming he was the Boy Who Lived.

"No. You are all dismissed." Harry listened as a series of pops filled the hall. He rushed back into the office, taking his seat just as the Dark Lord entered.

"You were listening, weren't you?" He said as he took his seat across from Harry.

"No, of course not, why would you say something like that?"

The Dark Lord smiled.

"If you wanted an invitation, you could have just asked."

Harry frowned.

"You didn't exactly specify where you were going, or what you were doing." Harry folded his arms across his chest.

"Caught you." The Dark Lord smirked.

"Damn it. I wasn't listening to anything, okay? Jeez."

Voldemort laughed.

"It's a bit early, but you might as well try to bring the rabbit back." He gestured to the rabbit still hanging in the corner.

The resurrection went without a hitch, and Harry grinned. He could wait a day, at least. That was reassuring. If he was going to be running around, bringing back Death Eaters, at least he had time to do it in. Harry smirked. He had been right when he said that the winning side was his side. With him around, no one could die.

_(A/N no, there's no raid in this chapter, but its over twice as long as my normal chapters. So rejoice! Raid is next chapter. Reviews are my crack! REVIEW REPLIES! YAY! Leski, you are so cute! *squeezes cheeks* Oharu chicken, only a little, but I live it when people ramble. Moar ramble! Daisuke Shadow Kitsune, OMG YOU GAVE ME A COOKIE! *flying leap hug* Oceane Meldagon, I'm going to keep putting you in A/N's until you get annoyed with it ;D somethingsable, the one word that makes me go all gooey. :D Oceanfur, yup, it serves a lot of purposes. :D yay! Eris! Eris and Ginny, sitting in a tre- *ehem.* moving on. AND OMG FIFTY THOUSAND WORDS+! Holy crap! I could have done NaNoWriMo if I started it earlier. Oh well. )_


	20. Naked chicken dance

_A/N omg you poor dears. You had to wait way to long for this and I do apologize. Real life, that's all I have to say on the subject. REVIEW REPLIES! YAY! Gemini Peverell, Thanks :D I do try for funny._

_Zais Cora, haha really? I must have known about the snake vision then. And here I thought I was just making sh*t up. Heh. Neville plot is still blurry but he will play a part. I think._

_Oceane Meldagon, you make me all warm and fuzzy when you review :P and you're making my head all big. It's going to explode. Lol. And last chapter was twelve A4 pages, when usually they are about five. :D_

_Oharu Chicken, Lmao, you make me giggle. You should probably get more sleep. Or not. Its entertaining. Lol._

_Oceanfur, THE RAID! THIS IS THE RAID! Haha. And yes, it was going to be cruel and heartless. I was actually going to type it, but my muse interrupted. I like it how it turned out, anyway :D_

_she-who-waits-in-darkness, I'm glad you started reading it, full stop :)_

_Submissive Kitty, yup, definitely a win win situation :D on with the show! )_

Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room, staring blankly at his Transfiguration homework. It wasn't so much 'homework' as it was a blank sheet of parchment. Ginny and Neville were both flanking him, and it seemed Neville had decided that he was never going to leave Harry's side.

The new rules and precautions had come in, and it wasn't unlike the confusion and terror that come with the Chamber of Secrets being opened. As Harry had guessed, many parents had taken their offspring entirely out of school. The remaining students had to travel in groups in no less than three. Both Ginny and Neville seemed to take this very seriously, and never left him alone. He didn't mind Ginny, because she knew who he really was.

But Neville on the other hand, would probably have a heart attack if he knew he was sitting next to Hermione's murderer. Well, not technically murderer, but close enough.

If the Boy Who Lived absolutely needed two other people with him during all waking hours, he would have chosen Ginny and Luna. That had proved almost impossible. Though Luna was frequently joining them, he couldn't leave the common room without two people. So Neville became a necessity. And though Harry was quite fond of the other Gryffindor, the thought of someone else catching on made his stomach jump with anxiety.

"I want to go with you." Ginny suddenly said. Harry glanced nervously to his right, where Neville was located. He knew what the red head was talking about, and she had chosen a ridiculously inappropriate time to voice her intentions. The raid was to begin later that evening, and Ginny had obviously decided she was invited. Which she wasn't.

"No, I don't think so, Gin."

She scowled. What was he supposed to say? 'By all means, join me and the Death Eaters on our epic quest to break into the most hardcore wizard prison in existence,'? Not bloody likely.

"Why not?" She folded her arms across her chest like a petulant child. Harry glanced at Neville once more, and found that he was now watching them curiously.

"Ginny," He said, warning in his tone. He gestured toward Neville with his head. Why was she bringing this up now?

"You aren't going anywhere, and if I find what you're looking for, I swear I'll bring it back, ok?"

The girl on his left huffed.

"We'll talk about this later," She said, arms still crossed. Harry wondered when exactly she planned on talking about it. Their chances of being alone before the raid was slim, at best. But he shrugged it off. He preferred it that way. The less time she had to wiggle her way in, the better.

OoOoO

The closer the raid came, Harry simultaneously felt pleased and nervous. He was due to leave in two hours, and Ginny had yet to get her chance to confront him.

Hellion was waiting in a corridor not far from the Room of Requirement, just as Harry had told him too. He had spent around two hours in his snake's mind, looking for a suitable exit far enough from prying eyes. He hoped he chose the right one.

He got to wondering what the Dark Lord was planning to do with Harry when he got there. Was he going to be disillusioned? Polyjuice? He hoped it wasn't going to be Polyjuice. Harry didn't want to have to drink it to begin with. And if the raid went longer than an hour, then he would have to take a flask of the disgusting stuff with him. It would be a challenge to even remember to drink the stuff. What with all the battling of good and evil going on. Harry hoped that the Dark Lord had thought of that.

Harry, for once, wanted to keep Neville around. He could see that Ginny was getting increasingly irritated, but he didn't mind. Neville was oblivious to most of it. Though Harry knew that the other boy had to be curious about where Ginny wanted to go.

Harry cast a Tempus, and told both Ginny and Neville that he was going to bed. He hoped that Neville would stay up a bit longer, it would be much harder for Ginny to sneak into the dorm that way.

OoOoO

The Boy Who Lived sat on his four poster bed with the curtains drawn. He cast Tempus every five minutes or less to check the time. Harry wanted to leave right away, but he didn't want to risk turning up at the wrong time, lest Voldemort be giving a pep talk. Once he got to the Dark Lord's manor, he would have an hour to prepare for the raid.

He had twenty minutes to go. Harry decided that he would go and get Hellion. He was sick of just sitting on his bed acting like a nervous wreck. When he drew back the curtains, he instantly fell off the bed.

"Jesus, Ginny, don't give me any warning." She was standing right in front of him, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. She had scared him half to death.

"I couldn't warn you, you had sticking and silencing charms on the curtains."

Harry smiled sheepishly, getting off the ground.

"Oh yeah, those." Harry rubbed the back of his neck and eyed her warily.

"Listen, I have to come with you," She began, but Harry stopped her.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do! Just let me tell you why, damn it,"

Harry paused and crossed his arms over his chest, just as she was doing.

"I can control Dementors." She said.

"Ginny, stop bringing up important information at stupid times."

"Do you remember the train ride here in third year? How that Dementor came into your compartment? That was me. Of course, it wasn't supposed to attack you. It was supposed to attack Ron. I thought that if I could get the Dementor to kiss him, it would be much easier to deal with him. I mean, all I would have had to have done was keep him breathing and blinking. But it didn't go the way it was supposed to. Since the Dementor's have a consciousness, they can fight the connection. It wouldn't have been a problem if I wasn't controlling Ron too, but it was too hard to keep them both under my thrall. It went for you instead. I'm sorry about that, by the way. I'm glad that Professor Lupin was there."

Harry just stood there blinking for a few seconds.

"You, you did that?"

She nodded, looking guilty.

"Yes, Harry, and I am sorry. But this means that I can be a huge help to you." Harry frowned, weighing the risks involved.

He finally sighed and dropped his arms.

"Fine, I'll take you to the Dark Lord, and let him decide." Harry felt a small amount of satisfaction when fear showed in her eyes.

"What, did you think I was going on my own?" Harry asked, amused.

"Well, no," She muttered.

Harry gestured for her to follow and slipped her under the cloak, putting his arm around her shoulders, keeping her close. The cloak was barely enough to cover the both of them.

"I gotta go and get my snake first," He whispered close to her ear.

"Erm, ok. I'm not a fan of snakes." She whispered back as they snuck out of the portrait hole.

"Well, you're gonna have to get real close to him, if he's gonna have a chance of fitting under here."

Ginny shivered noticeably, but Harry made no comment. They stuck close to the wall, passing professor Snape on the way. The Golden Boy wasn't even sure if the man would try to stop him.

He really wanted to figure out what was going on there, but it was at the bottom of his list of priorities. He came to a stop in front of a large portrait of a sleeping man who was probably from the Edwardian era. He hissed for it too open, and his snake slithered straight out.

'There is someone else under the cloak with me. She is on our side,' Harry quickly told the snake, lest he get any ideas about who was for dinner.

'Yes, master.' Harry opened the cloak slightly, letting his leg show. Hellion quickly climbed the length of Harry and came to rest on his shoulders, partially putting his weight on Ginny. Harry heard her whimper and laughed softly.

He then led them to a more private alcove, and took the cloak off entirely. He wasn't going to pop into Voldemort's study invisible. He kept his arm around Ginny protectively. If the Dark Lord started firing at her, he wanted to be able to get her out of the way quickly. Harry sighed. He hoped that wouldn't be the case. Surely Voldemort trusted him, at least a little, by now. As soon as he thought it, he shook it off. Of course the Dark Lord didn't trust him. He trusted no one.

He activated the Portkey, crossing his fingers. They landed with a thump in the study, though this time Harry didn't have to pick himself up. Ginny seemed to be much more at ease with using Portkeys than he was. Either that, or she was rigid with fear, because she held him up. The Dark Lord had his back to them, either not sensing the extra presence or simply not caring.

"You will be bringing the rabbit back once more before we leave." Voldemort said, not turning.

"Yeah, sure, I brought that necromancer I was talking about." Harry said quickly.

"Hmm. Why?" He turned to face them then. Harry watched as shock crossed his features, twice consecutively. Once while looking at Ginny, which he quickly covered, then again upon seeing Hellion.

"_Say hello, Hellion." _Harry grinned cheekily at the Dark Lord, who was still looking at Harry and the Fertura snake in shock.

"_Hello,"_ Hellion hissed politely, much to Harry's relief. He seemed to be able to get away with being rude to Voldemort, but he doubted anyone else could.

"_Hello. How did you come to get so big?" _Harry had a feeling it was rhetorical, so he took the chance to answer the previous question that the Dark Lord had asked.

"I brought her because she could be useful. Also, she wouldn't leave me alone about it."

Once again, the Dark Lord looked at the small girl besides Harry, who was now burrowing slightly under his arm.

"I must say that I am quite surprised that your necromancer is a Weasley. What is it exactly, that she is going to be helpful with?" Voldemort looked genuinely interested. To Harry's surprise, Ginny spoke.

"I can control Dementors," She said it quietly, but the Dark Lord heard her.

"Oh, well that won't be useful at all, the Dementor's are on my side." He said it in a dismissive tone, and Harry was glad. He got ready to Portkey her back, but she spoke again.

"Wait, I can cast a Patronus,"

Harry looked down at the small girl and wondered where she was going with this.

"Why would that be helpful?" The Boy Who Lived voiced his curiosity.

"Because while you're there, Harry, you can't cast a Patronus. Everyone knows what form yours takes. I won't use it to attack them, just to keep them from making everyone feel hopeless." Harry wondered why he hadn't thought about it before. Of course everyone knew, it had been in the papers numerous times. The Dark Lord looked her over once more.

"Very well. Harry, bring back the rabbit. I will be waiting in the foyer." Once the door had shut behind Voldemort, Ginny turned to look up at Harry, a triumphant grin on her face. He sighed.

"Yes, Gin. You win." He went to the rabbit in the corner, and once again, it was seamless. Harry wondered how long exactly something could stay dead before he couldn't bring it back. Either way, two days was fantastic in his opinion.

He went down into the foyer, Ginny and Hellion close behind.

"Here, put these on." The Dark Lord said when they reached him. He was holding two separate robes, and Harry slipped his over his clothes, and cast a sticking charm as he did so. He didn't think it would be appropriate if his robes were to fall open, revealing Gryffindor colors. Ginny did the same. The Dark Lord then raised his wand at him, and the Boy Who Lived felt the old panic that he used to feel when Voldemort pointed a wand at him.

"Mortem Concelo," Harry felt his face being covered by what he assumed was a mask. He guessed it was a Death Eater mask, and he was surprised by the fact that they were created with a spell. They were rather comfortable as well.

When the Dark Lord pointed his wand at Ginny, Harry got nervous, though he was pretty sure that he was just conjuring a mask. Again Voldemort cast the mask creating spell, and the Boy Who Lived breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to disillusion your hair and eyes, but I don't need to do anything further than that. Your faces are concealed." Harry nodded, feeling incredibly strange wearing a Death Eater mask. He couldn't imagine how Ginny felt. Eris must have been important to her if she was willing to dress up as a Death Eater and storm Azkaban.

Harry had to admire her bravery. Though what else could he expect from a Gryffindor? Harry knew now that he wasn't supposed to be in the House of the Lions. Though he was brave and headstrong, those were not his defining qualities. He was becoming much more aware of his on Slytherin attributes, even without the Horcrux.

OoOoO

Ginny and Harry sat nervously in the foyer, with Hellion at their feet. They were ready to leave, and the Dark Lord had left for some last minute preparation. They had been waiting ten minutes before Ginny broke the silence.

"Merlin, I hope he's ok." She whispered.

"How long have you known him?" Harry asked.

"I met him the very same day Ron died. Not ten minutes later." She smiled bitterly at the memory.

"He practically taught me everything I know. Until he disappeared. Though if he had have been caught for necromancy, he would have been kissed by the Dementors already. I guess part of me knew that he had been caught. I had no idea what to do about it. Then I found you," She finished, smiling. Then Harry realized something.

"You're in love with him," He stated his findings out loud.

"How very astute of you, Harry. It only took you this long." She grinned cheekily.

"Psh, I knew all along."

Voldemort entered then, cutting their conversation short.

"Are you prepared to leave?" He asked, with a man that was obviously Lucius Malfoy standing behind him. There was no mistaking the hair. He wondered why the elder Malfoy didn't disguise it. Harry and Ginny both stood. Harry bowed, and the no longer red headed girl quickly followed his example.

"Yes, my lord." Harry made his voice deeper than it usually was.

Lucius came forward with what must have been a Portkey, and Hellion climbed up his leg in preparation. Harry was glad that he didn't have to tell the snake to do so, he was certain that Lucius knew he was a Parseltongue. And it wasn't exactly a common ability.

He and Ginny both placed their hands on the Portkey, and Harry felt the familiar tug behind his navel. When he landed, he tried his best to stay standing, though to his dismay, he had to grab onto Ginny to stay upright. He stumbled and just barely composed himself. He looked around in embarrassment, seeing roughly thirty Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself watching him. Voldemort looked exasperated, as did the snake upon his shoulders. And he guessed that everyone else had the same expression. Harry was glad they were all wearing masks.

Harry bowed his head sheepishly, and waited for the Dark Lord to say something.

"This man you see here is our newest addition. His name is Tom."

Harry's head snapped up upon hearing his 'name'. Why would the Dark Lord call him that? Could he have just come up with it on the spot? He felt Ginny watching him carefully, and he was glad he was wearing a mask. He didn't look at her. After all, what could he have said?

Harry finally took in his surroundings, he noticed that they were on a beach, with what appeared to be twenty or so boats lining the shore.

The Dark Lord gave him a look that said, 'What, did you think we were just going to Portkey right in there?'

"The woman is his sister, Maria. She will be joining us for the raid. Now, two to a boat. Maria, Tom, you're with me."

Harry and Ginny followed obediently, taking their seats across from the Dark Lord in the shabby little boat.

"So," Harry began conversationally, crossing his legs to the best of his ability.

"How long are we going to have the pleasure of traveling with you?" He asked.

"An hour, at least." Voldemort replied, ignoring Harry's antics.

OoOoO

Roughly half an hour and three awkward and abandoned conversations later, Harry noticed that the water was getting increasingly choppy. When he looked ahead, he could see that it was going to get worse. The prison wasn't even in sight yet.

"Err, I don't want to alarm you, but we're about to enter what looks to be a giant washing machine," Harry said nervously. The Dark Lord turned and looked, no expression on his face.

"It seems that way," He said.

"And you're not going to do anything?" Ginny squeaked.

"I already have, calm yourself." Just as Voldemort said this, a huge wave engulfed the boat, and Harry threw his arms over his head, despite what the Dark Lord had proclaimed. When there was no icy impact, he removed his arms and saw that they were inside the wave. Quite literally inside it. There was no air, though he was breathing. Harry watched in fascination as a large fish was swept violently past them. He could tell that the current was incredibly strong, but he remained unmoved, not feeling the pull.

As quickly as it began, they were back on top of the ocean.

"That was wicked," Harry breathed. Ginny nodded fervently beside him. Hellion who was at Harry's feet, seemed rather rattled. Nagini, who was still on the Dark Lord's shoulders, seemed completely unaffected. Just as her master was.

OoOoO

It took around another hour to reach the prison, and when they did, Harry wondered how the hell they were supposed to get in. There were no stairs or obvious entrance, just a sheer cliff.

"How are we getting in?" He asked out loud.

"We will be scaling the side." Voldemort told him. Harry tried to conjure an image of the Dark Lord rock climbing, but failed.

"Well, it looks completely unscaleable, really. Why didn't we bring brooms or something?" Then he began to picture the Dark Lord riding a broom. He did his best to cover the smirk that had appeared on his lips.

"No magically enchanted items work here, unless permitted."

Harry thought about it.

"Does that mean we're going to be using good old fashioned fisticuffs to win this battle?"

"Pardon?" The Dark Lord looked perplexed.

"Wands. Aren't they enchanted?" Harry asked. Voldemort sighed.

"Yes, but its rather different. A wand is directly connected to a person's magical core. While other enchanted items, such as a Portkey or a broom, can be slightly affected by a person's core, they are run by outside magic. Therefore, they can be disrupted by outside forces." The Dark Lord explained.

"You don't pay much attention to magical theory, do you, Tom." Ginny smiled as she spoke, and Harry took a few seconds to realize that she was talking to him. She was obviously using his 'other' name to stay in character.

"Well, Maria," He put extra emphasis on 'Maria,'

"Let's see you concentrate on school work with a crazy Dark Lord trying to kill you." He gestured to the real Tom, who was standing behind him, obviously preparing to scale the building, ignoring Harry completely.

"Scandendum Verticalem," Harry heard him say, and then the man simply began to walk up the side of the building, his snake dangling precariously, and hissing profanities. The Boy Who Lived and the girl who came along for the ride watched as the Death Eaters followed suit. It was a rather impressive sight, watching thirty something people walk directly upwards.

"Well, that's cool and all, but I have no idea how to use that spell," Harry told Ginny.

"Oh, I do. Fred and George used to do it all the time, to terrify me while I was sleeping." She pointed her wand at him, and cast the spell.

Harry felt no different, but when Ginny cast the spell on herself and gestured for him to go ahead, he figured he would give it a go. Hellion wrapped himself rather tightly around his middle, obviously anticipating the coming anti-gravity situation.

To his mild surprise, as soon as he put a foot on the wall, he found it was just like walking on the ground. He followed the other Death Eaters, with 'Maria' following closely behind him.

Once they reached the top, Harry saw that the top of the prison had a large triangular hole in the roof.

"Well, that's a design flaw, if I've ever seen one." Harry muttered as he came to stand next to Voldemort.

"It's one I am glad for," The Dark Lord said back, just as quietly. When Ginny came to stand beside Harry, Voldemort turned his attention to her.

"Maria, this would be an appropriate time to cast your Patronus."

She nodded and quietly muttered the spell, and a silvery mare burst forth from her wand. The horse took the front, and led them down into the prison. Walking down into the prison was much the same as walking up, but Harry was still thoroughly fascinated. There was a lot he still needed to learn about magic. And now that he was fighting for his life, he vowed that he would learn all he could.

And he was going to make the Dark Lord teach him. Who better than the strongest wizard, (in Harry's opinion) to teach him?

While walking down the wall, he noticed that almost all the Death Eaters were shooting looks his way. Harry guessed that the snake around his middle could have been one of the reasons. Another could have been that he was walking directly beside the Dark Lord, and not being Crucioed for it.

"Arm yourselves." Voldemort told his minions, and Harry removed his Dead Ash wand from his outer robe pocket. They were close to the bottom, and the Golden Boy could see some guards milling around on the ground below, apparently they hadn't looked up yet. The Dark Lord obviously found that a preemptive strike was best, because he began firing Avarda Kedrava's almost instantly. The Death Eaters followed suit, and Harry glanced nervously at Ginny, wondering what she would do if he were to cast one.

Four of the guards fell dead before any of the others thought to look up. As soon as the guards noticed them, the Death Eaters charged forward as one unit without any prompting. Harry decided that Voldemort was pretty good at forming an army.

As soon as they reached the ground, Ginny hit the ground running, breaking away from the group. Seemingly oblivious to the spells being fired at her. Harry glanced over at Voldemort and shrugged, running after the small non-redhead. She had left her Patronus behind, and as soon as they were far enough from the Death Eaters, Harry cast his. Ginny was tearing through the corridors, and Harry was having a hard time keeping up with a large snake wrapped around his middle. He told Hellion that, and he slid down, wasting time. As soon as he was free, Harry pelted after the girl. Hellion was surprisingly keeping pace.

When Ginny reached the cells, she searched each one frantically, causing the occupants to lose their minds at the thought of possibly escaping. This set Harry's nerves on edge. The guards on this side of the prison couldn't possibly not hear the uproar. He drew his wand and waited. The girl ahead of him seemed completely ignorant to the chaos she was causing. The Boy Who Lived sighed. This prison was huge, and he guessed there were quite a few cells inside it. Harry thought about sending Hellion ahead and looking through its eyes, but scraped the idea. He didn't want his snake being killed on sight.

He watched the small girl race around like a chicken with its head cut off for a while, almost smiling at the riot she was creating, when an idea hit him that made him bring his palm to his face in embarrassment. Why hadn't he thought of it before?

"Gi-Maria!" Harry called over the din. She, not surprisingly, didn't hear him. He sighed and jogged up to her, putting his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Why don't we just use the Patronus?" He asked her. She smiled hugely, and giggled in a rather high pitched fashion

.

"Of course, Harry! Why didn't I think of that?" Ginny grinned, obviously forgetting that Harry's name was supposed to be Tom.

"Take me to Eris Jager." Harry heard heavy footfalls behind them, and set of running after the stag. Hellion and Ginny followed his example. He wasn't sure how long they could outrun the guards, as each row of prisoners they passed screamed at them, it was easy to hear where they were going. The stag seemed to sense the urgency and sped up, Harry did the same. He was rather shocked when the Patronus came to a stop not long after they set off. Ginny became preoccupied with what was in the cell, and Harry turned to await the imminent arrival of the Aurors. It was at this point he realized the strange absence of the Dementors. This place was supposed to be crawling with them, but he was yet to see one. Harry assumed that it was the Dark Lord's doing, though it could have been because he had never left the side of a Patronus.

As he knew they would, six guards skidded around the corner. Harry wasn't going to wait for them to reach him, and he was no longer concerned about Ginny's opinion on certain dark spells. Harry was pretty sure she wouldn't notice if he were to suddenly strip and do the chicken dance. He raised his wand and didn't hesitate before casting the killing curse. He fired it off three times before they even had a chance to fire back. He took a step to the side so that he was in front of the girl who was frantically trying to get the door unlocked, blocking any spells that might be fired at her. He heard a distinctly male voice coming from inside the cell, and he was glad that the man hadn't been kissed. He called off his Patronus, just in case one of the Aurors were to escape alive. Though he wasn't about to let any of them get away, accident's did happen.

Harry conjured several snakes and ordered them on the remaining three guards, while ordering Hellion behind him to protect the oblivious girl. The other inmates were still in an uproar, and Harry was overdosing on adrenalin. He cast another killing curse, but the guards were wiser now, dodging them quickly.

"Diffindo." Harry grinned with satisfaction as the spell hit one on the guards in the leg, dropping him quickly. Harry killed the Auror as he nursed his bleeding leg. While he was silently celebrating, he was hit with a ball of fire, right in the chest. He fell backwards, barely missing Ginny. He got to his feet as fast as he could, groaning at the pain. As he stood, he noticed one of the men looked distinctly slower than the other, and he guessed that he had been bitten by one of the cobras he had summoned. Though the snakes were rather dead now, he thanked them mentally.

"Expelliarmus, Expelliarmus!" He shouted, watching only one of the spells hit the slow one. He flew backward, slamming into one of the cells, his wand rolling in. Harry smirked at that. The prisoner would likely finish the guard off. Then escape.

Harry faced the remaining man, panting slightly. He heard Ginny yell, "Bombarda Maxima!" Behind him, and he hoped she succeeded in freeing the contained necromancer. He could see the guard that he had earlier sent flying being yanked at through the bars of the cell, and he looked to be already dead. Harry's eyes again found his remaining opponent, and he grinned, though the man wasn't likely to have seen it through the mask. The both of them stood immobile, waiting for the other to make a move. Harry saw movement behind the guard, but didn't take his eyes of the man, lest he warn him. If he was lucky, the prisoner would kill the guard, and Harry wouldn't have to do anything.

He could hear whispers behind him, and they were both distinctly outside of the cell. Harry grinned. She had done it. And hopefully they would give up the reunion and join the fight. Because there were likely to be more guards on the way.

It wasn't the prisoner from the other cell or even Harry that killed the last guard, it was the Dementors. Harry watched as the corridor filled with around fifteen of the soul sucking demons, and sighed in relief as the rest of the inmates grew silent. For some reason, he was completely unaffected by the Dementors presence. He watched in mild surprise as all fifteen descended on the man. Harry turned to face Ginny, who was standing next to a rather tall and incredibly shabby and tired looking man. He noticed that they were holding hands, and their eyes looked rather glazed. He put two and two together and realized that they were controlling the Dementors.

Harry turned again and watched in morbid fascination as the Dementors took turns stealing parts of the guard's soul. They then turned on the unlucky prisoner that had escaped earlier, sucking out his life force as well. They then raised to the ceiling, where they seemed to be waiting for something.

"Harry." Harry turned once more and smiled at Ginny.

"Thank you," She smiled.

"Hey, anything for you, Ginny." He noticed Eris watching him carefully, and he smiled wide at the man.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Eris." Harry held out his hand for the man to shake, but Eris just glared.

"Right. Erm. Shall we go then?" Harry changed the subject.


	21. First contact

_(A/N sorry guys! I took a break for xmas and new years. Hope you all had a good one. :D and I will be doing the raid from Ginny's POV so look out for that. I'll be adding it to the oneshot on my profile, titled Forever Changed. Also, slight slash in this chapter. I didn't want it to be this soon, but my Harry insisted. Cheeky little bugger he is. And it is only slight, nothing too graphic. )_

Harry sat and watched the Dark Lord, who was currently slumped over what looked to be a hundred different books. The Boy Who Lived wondered if he was even supposed to be there. The raid was over, and Ginny and Eris had stolen themselves away almost instantly, and the Dark Lord had promptly seated himself in front of his desk, not speaking a word to Harry.

So he sat, awkwardly he might add, waiting for the Dark Lord to say something. Harry cleared his throat loudly, and Voldemort either ignored him or was simply too engrossed in what he was reading.

The raid had gone well, with only one Death Eater lost in the fray. And Harry assumed that he was killed by a misfired curse from his comrades. Because Harry had never seen an Auror cast the killing curse. All in all, they had managed to collect a further forty Death Eaters, and managed to recruit even more. Harry had had the privilege of watching Voldemort conjure thirty more boats with a singular wave of his wand. He couldn't help but be impressed.

Harry noticed that the Dark Lord made an oddly endearing humming noise when he was concentrating.

Harry had wondered about Eris' odd behavior when he had first met him. The hostility continued throughout the boat trip back, and it made things very awkward for both Harry and Ginny. Voldemort, however, was his usual unfazed self.

Eris had also appeared to have the urge to stomp on Hellion's head several times. Harry had called the snake onto his shoulders with Parseltongue, and earned himself a disgusted snarl from Eris, and a look he couldn't identify from the Dark Lord.

He decided he would ask Ginny about his behavior, because she would surely ask her fellow necromancer, wouldn't she?

Harry cleared his throat once more, louder this time. Voldemort shifted slightly, looking irritated. But he still said nothing.

He had been wondering about why the Dark Lord was affected when Harry performed dark magic. He had a theory that the Darkness was still being fed by it. He wondered what the long term effects of that would be. He was also confused about the fact that he no longer felt it. If he were fully honest, he missed that. He knew on some level that it wasn't healthy, but it was addictive. He realized with a pang that he had never reached that 'pinnacle' that he had sensed so many times before while casting Liquida Tenebris.

He pondered whether or not Voldemort experienced that sensation when Harry had cast the spell.

Harry had been fiddling with a piece of thread that had come free from his robe as he sat there, and he balled up said string and flung it at the Dark Lord with all his might, hoping childishly to hit him in the face. Of course, it wasn't heavy enough to get that far. It fell right into the pages of the book that Voldemort was reading. The man simply brushed it away and kept reading. The Boy Who Lived sighed rather loudly. Louder than necessary, certainly.

Again, he went unnoticed.

"You know, I've always wanted to live in a giant fruit. If I had a choice, it would be a peach. But I'm fine with whatever, really. Also, I want it to be filled with giant bugs. And we would go on an epic adventure trying to find New York. And people would be able to breathe underwater." Harry grinned from ear to ear, hoping that his nonsense would catch the Dark Lord's attention. He wasn't truly surprised when the only reply he received was an affirmative hmm.

"You could come too. I'm sure you could make a fruit giant." Another hmm.

"Have you ever put a fish in a microwave?" Harry asked seriously. Yet another hmm.

"Did you eat it?" hmm.

"Right, that's creepy. I could get you to agree to anything right now. How about you give up your title as the Dark Lord and hand it over to Molly Weasley?" Voldemort agreed.

"Well it's settled then. Shall I owl her now? Inform her of her new status?" The Dark Lord hmmed his agreement.

Harry sighed. "If only you were paying attention. Wouldn't you have bloody flipped if I actually sent her an owl?"

This time, the Dark Lord had no reply to give him. Harry growled and stood up, determined to get a reaction.

"What are you reading that's so bloody engrossing, anyway?" He made his way to Voldemort's side, looking over his shoulder at the book he was currently pouring himself into. It wasn't in English. Or any language that Harry recognized. Harry quickly gave in to the urge to poke the Dark Lord in the back of the head. In any normal situation, he wouldn't be acting this way. But he was quickly discovering he didn't like to be ignored. Especially by Voldemort. Though he wasn't sure why that was.

The Dark Lord didn't even twitch when Harry slammed his finger sharply into the back of his head.

Harry frowned. There was no way that Voldemort was simply oblivious at this point. He couldn't possibly be this unobservant. He was the Dark Lord, for Christ's sake. He had to watch his back. No, he was simply ignoring Harry.

This made him furious, for some inexplicable reason. Harry drew his Dead Ash wand, and pressed it against the soft spot on the back of the Dark Lord's neck. Again, no reaction. Harry pressed hard enough for it to cause pain, but Voldemort made no attempt to move, or draw his wand on Harry. The Boy Who Lived wondered if he was actually going to cast a spell on the Dark Lord.

He decided that no, he wasn't. Said ignorant man didn't seem to think so either. Harry lowered his wand, frowning. At this point, he felt that he needed a reaction to be able to continue living.

So he sat on the desk, with his knees alarmingly close to the Dark Lord's chin.

"You are, by far, the most irritating thing I have ever met."

Harry grinned. Finally a reaction.

"I had imagined that you would take my silence as a hint to leave."

Harry crossed his legs slowly, bumping Voldemort's jaw. The man stared at The Boy Who Lived with distaste, and something else Harry couldn't quite identify. It had been happening quite a lot lately, and he was infinitely curious. What was that look? Harry leaned forward almost unconsciously, trying to figure out what the Dark Lord was thinking. His eyes widened considerably as the Chosen One leaned in, though the expression was gone in a flash.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Harry asked, his voice sounded sweet and innocent even to his ears, and he had no clue what he was doing, really. Anyone with sense wouldn't even be here.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," The Dark Lord's voice was low enough that Harry had to lean in further to understand him.

"_Yes you do," _The only reason Harry decided to use Parseltongue was because he wanted Voldemort to have the same reaction he did on the boat. The same look that made him insanely curious. He didn't get that reaction, or anything close to it.

The Dark Lord struck like a cobra, pinning Harry to the desk by his wrists. The Boy Who Lived hissed in pain. Up until this point, he had almost entirely forgotten about the wound he had sustained in Azkaban, were the fireball had hit him in the chest. But the way his back was arched over the large pile of books had torn the wound slightly, and Harry decided that the books were uncomfortable enough, without a flesh wound to go with it.

'You're injured,' The Dark Lord observed. Harry was confused. Why was he being punished for using Parseltongue? Was Voldemort offended by it? That didn't make sense; he had just spoken to him using the language. And Nagini spoke to him with it. And Harry had never seen the Dark Lord pin his snake to a desk.

"Yeah, fireball."

Voldemort was hovering over him, his hands still pinning him down. What in God's name was going on? Harry had barely said anything offensive this time. This was minor, if not minuscule, compared to his previous transgressions. So why was he currently pinned to a desk? The Dark Lord didn't look angry. His face was rather blank, really.

The Boy Who Lived started when Voldemort pulled open his robe, which he had used to cover the large hole in his shirt. He then ripped said shirt open, revealing the large burn on his chest. Harry was about to get up, because this situation was all too strange for him, when he was shocked still by the sensation of fingers trailing around the wound, rather delicately. He stared in silence as the Dark Lord's hand wandered over his chest, completely stunned into silence.

The hand continued up his torso, and it reached the sensitive crook of his neck before he even breathed again. What the hell was Voldemort doing? If Harry didn't know better, he would say the one and only Dark Lord was caressing him. And that was entirely insane. Wasn't it?

Voldemort drew his wand, having moved his hand from Harry's neck. The Boy Who Lived was still completely gobsmacked and said nothing as the older man pressed his wand to the wound and muttered;

"Episkey." He then went promptly back to tracing patterns on Harry's chest. This was when the Chosen One finally found his voice.

"What-what are you doing?" His breath came out in a whoosh.

His question was all for naught, because Voldemort made no move to answer it. He simply watched Harry's chest with that same look that The Boy Who Lived had seen so many times before. And he realized with a start that it was fascination. Why would the Dark Lord be fascinated with him?

But here he was, pinned uncomfortably under said Dark Lord, with the man looking at his skin like it was made of gold.

Harry decided that this had gone on long enough, and attempted, finally, to squirm away. Both his wrists were again caught by long spidery fingers, and Voldemort looked him in the face for the first time, as if he had only just realized that he was even there at all.

"What are you doing?" Harry said quietly, as if talking any louder would send the Dark Lord into a rage. And it might have, for all he knew. This was not normal behavior for a heartless murderer.

Voldemort did not answer once more, and Harry was thoroughly creeped out. Once again, the Chosen One squirmed, harder this time.

"Jesus, would you get off me? You are scaring me shitless here."

The Dark Lord stood, releasing him as he went.

"You may go." He said, turning and leaving the study, and a very bewildered Harry Potter.


	22. Monumental confusion

_(A/N yes, they had a moment, but it could be a while until anything truly happens between them. This pairing is a hard pairing to make work, I hope you all understand :D also, Ginny's POV of the raid is up, you can find it in Forever Changed, which is located in my profile. Happy reading :D)_

Harry lay awkwardly on the books for some time before he stood. He was shaking slightly and was more than a little confused. What the hell had just happened? What was the Dark Lord trying to do? Was he still trying to kill him? Because he felt close to having a heart attack.

Voldemort had touched him. And not in the way that a comrade might pat you on the shoulder before battle. No. It was sensual. Harry's spine tingled at the word that his brain had deemed appropriate. Sensual. He resisted the urge to say the word aloud, though it sat on his tongue like a great fat squirming beetle.

"Jesus." He said instead.

He knew that Ginny and Eris were still somewhere in the manor. At Harry's request, they had been given a room to reunite. Though Harry was clueless as to where that was. What if he accidentally found the Dark Lord in his search?

Oddly, part of him wanted to. Though he couldn't fathom why. He decided to pin this urge on the fact that he wanted to confront Voldemort on what had just happened. And not anything else.

Harry had never really considered his sexuality, though he had always assumed he was straight. He just had never had the time to ponder it. He had always thought that he would die at the hands of the Dark Lord.

And now said Dark Lord was touching him, and he really couldn't say how that made him feel. Confused, surely. But anything other than that was too complicated to think on right that second. What he needed to do was get Ginny, and get back to Gryffindor tower, so he could just calm down.

He finally made himself move toward the still slightly ajar door, which Voldemort had exited through not moments before. He found himself picturing the Dark Lord standing just outside the door, waiting for him. He hesitated with his hand on the doorknob. What would he do, if he was standing there?

Harry took a deep breath in and decided to not think about it. Not for too long. Because he had no idea what he would find within himself if he did.

He pulled hard on the door, flinging it wide open, though it was unnecessary. There was no one waiting for him.

He wandered down the corridor, knocking on every door he glimpsed. At one point, he heard a suspicious sounding growl come from behind one of the doors, and decided promptly to leave that room the hell alone. Whatever it was sounded large enough to swallow him whole.

He had tried another three doors when Ginny poked her head out of the door he was about to knock on.

"Oh. Hi," Harry said, slightly startled.

"How did you know I was here?" He asked.

"I didn't. I was actually about to come find you. Are you okay? You look really flustered."

Harry blinked hard.

"Erm. I'll tell you about it later. Shall we go? I'm exhausted." Ginny obviously heard the desperation in his voice, though he did try to cover it with a yawn.

"Oh, yeah. Eris and I decided that he should stay at the Shrieking Shack. What do you think?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, yeah. Should be good for a while." He replied absently.

"Okay. Okay, good. Umm, I was thinking that I should give Eris my wand and have him Apparate us to the shack?" Ginny asked the question as if she expected Harry to refuse, but he just nodded dumbly.

He literally could not stop thinking about those fingers on him.

OoOoO

As soon as they reached the end of the wards, Eris grabbed Harry's arm rather roughly, though the Boy Who Lived was much too preoccupied to really care.

He felt the sudden tightness of Apparation, though barely. As soon as he could blink, he was standing in front of the Shrieking Shack. He decided that Eris must be quite powerful, since the Apparation had taken barely seconds.

Harry watched, slightly impatiently, as Eris and Ginny said their goodbyes for the night. The redhead, and she was a redhead once more, was leaving her wand with the other necromancer. She had promised him that she would bring food at the next available opportunity.

Harry felt strangely calm. The calm that came before a major freak out, he thought idly.

Eris entered the ramshackle house, and Ginny came towards him looking worried.

"You look really odd, Harry, what happened?" She was talking rather quietly, and he wondered why.

"I think I'm going into shock," Harry could see the sun poking tentatively out of the horizon, and for some reason, he found that hilarious.

"Haha! Ginny! Look how shy the sun is!" Ginny made a half turn to look in the direction Harry was gazing, and turned back looking a far sight more worried than she did before.

"Harry, what happened." It was no longer a question, and the Boy Who Lived tore his eyes from the rising sun.

"Voldemort. He did the strangest thing." Ginny appeared to be waiting for more, so he continued.

"I was talking to him. Then he pinned me to the desk, and he touched me. Not in a friendly way, either. Not even in an angry way. What does that mean?" he asked.

"Erm, what do you mean, Harry?" Harry shock his head, trying to clear his muddled up thoughts.

"Like, like um, how you would touch someone if you wanted too, you know." Ginny's eyebrows rose

.

"No, I don't know. What are you trying to say?"

"How you would touch someone if you wanted to have sex with them" Harry's mouth stumbled on the word 'sex,' but it came out clear enough for Ginny to hear.

"What? I mean, what?" Ginny's eyes were bulging, and Harry decided that she was reacting how he should have been.

"Yeah. Why would he do that?" He asked, his eyes once again averting to the ever rising sun.

"I, I don't know. What did you do? I mean, it can't have just happened randomly without prompting."

"I said, 'yes you do'" Ginny stared at him.

"You're going to have to repeat that in English, I'm no good with Parseltongue."

"Oh, sorry. I said, 'yes you do,' and he jumped me."

Ginny looked thoughtful then. Bless her soul for trying to figure it out, because Harry had little hope at this point.

"Did you say it in Parseltongue?" Harry nodded the affirmative.

"Hmm." Ginny went back to pondering, and the Boy Who Lived went back to watching the golden ball of light rise up across the sky.

"Harry, do you think that, umm. How would I even say this." Ginny cleared her throat harshly.

"Erm. Do you think that, maybe, erm, maybe Parseltongue might possibly turn him on?" Harry's eyes instantly jerked to look at the small red head, his eyebrows lost somewhere in his hairline.

"Turn him on?" Harry asked disbelievingly, then he paused to think about it. On the boat when he called Hellion back onto his shoulders. That look. When Harry had introduced his snake to Voldemort. That look. And finally, when Harry had spoken the language not even hours prior, he got a bit more than that look. Maybe Ginny was right? If she was, than he would have to be extra careful to not speak it in front of the man.

"Maybe you're right," Harry glanced at Ginny, who was looking at him with what he guessed might be sympathy.

"We should get back," she said after a moment. Harry nodded, grimacing slightly. If this weird attraction that the Dark Lord had for him continued, it would make everything a lot harder. He wanted the Horcrux back, that was all. Why did everything have to get so complicated?

He grabbed hold of Ginny's tiny hand and Portkeyed them back to the boy's dormitory. She left him alone to his thoughts, and Harry wondered if he was grateful or angry about that.

He lay back on his bed, and just as he knew he would, he started thinking about what the Dark Lord's fingers had felt like on his skin. He couldn't quite figure out if he was aroused or disgusted. But he just couldn't stop the thoughts from rolling into his mind in waves. What would have happened if he had of allowed Voldemort to continue his ministrations? He shivered, and it wasn't entirely unpleasant. What if he was gay? He wasn't entirely offended by the thought of it. Maybe he was.

His hand traced the sensitive spot on his neck that the Dark Lord had previously found, and sucked in a breath. His stomach clenched at the sensation, and he was shocked to find that he had an erection. He had an erection, thinking about Voldemort. Something seriously screwed up was going on with Harry's mind. He vowed, then and there, that he would never think about this again. He would ignore any strange look that the Dark Lord might shoot his way, and if Voldemort would ever try to do again what he did that morning, Harry would break away from him and activate his Portkey. Yeah, that's what he would do.

Absolutely, positively, would not, could not, return any of the advances the Dark Lord might make.

Not if he could help it.


	23. Mind games

_(A/N oh, hello there again. How are you all? Nother chappy, yay! __**Scenes of a graphic nature in this chapter, slash. Male on male sex, if I can make it any clearer.)**_

Harry jerked awake what felt like minutes later, and hey, maybe it was. It was five thirty in the morning when he had first collapsed onto his bed, and he spent what felt to be another hour trying to rein in his errant thoughts.

And even then, he had dreamt about some seriously messed up things, in his opinion. The main theme of said dreams was the Dark Lord's fingers. Trailing all over him. Maybe it wasn't so messed up. His mind added, before he smashed the thought with a theoretical sledge hammer. No, bad Harry, he thought to himself. There was no way he was thinking about this. He had promised himself that much.

So, no more thinking about it.

Seamus and Neville were talking quietly and appeared to be getting ready. Harry frowned. He couldn't stand the thought of classes today. He felt positively exhausted, and he wanted to be in top physical shape, because he had to go back to the Dark Lord's manor that night to revive the rabbit. He didn't want to take a chance on being too tired to resist Voldemort's advances. That was assuming that he would even try anything. If Harry's rather immediate rejection was anything to go by, he might not.

For some reason, The Boy Who Lived felt a sting in his heart that he realized was guilt. Why was he guilty? He shouldn't be feeling that way, he didn't do anything wrong.

_Maybe that's not guilt you're feeling_, his brain supplied happily.

_Oh, screw off, what would you know, you're me._ Harry thought angrily.

_Maybe that's regret. Maybe you didn't want it to stop._

Harry made no attempt to correct his brain. He imagined that if he ignored himself, these thoughts would just stop. He looked over at Neville and Seamus, and told them that he was not coming to classes today, under any circumstances.

"What's up, Harry? You look buggered." Seamus asked, and Neville nudged him in the ribs and whispered something the Chosen One didn't hear.

"Ohh," Seamus said loudly, realization shading his face.

"Have you heard anything about her yet?" Harry blinked at Seamus, wondering who he was talking about. It took him a long time to realize what he meant. Maybe too long. Hermione.

"No, not yet." Harry said finally, trying for hopelessness.

"Well, feel better soon, mate. You're bound to find her." Seamus smiled a small smile, but Neville looked slightly suspicious. The Boy Who Lived schooled his features into a sad, exhausted mask, though admittedly the exhausted part wasn't hard at all.

When the pair left the dorm, Harry realized that Dean was nowhere to be seen. Not that he wanted company or anything. He just wanted more distractions. Anything would have been fine. A life threatening situation, maybe. He was good with those. He could understand those. This, he could not. A distraction. He thought. I really need one.

From those fingers. If those fingers could do that, what could his mouth do? What about his-

_No! Stop thinking!_

He needed a shower. The Gryffindor boy's dorm had one bathroom. With one shower, and no lock on the door. Which made jacking off rather hard, if you asked Harry. Though he did have the choice of doing so in his own bed, but he found that it was much easier to get off in the shower. At least for him. So this left him with few opportunities to relief himself.

However, right then, he did have a chance. And he knew that he would have a much better chance of escaping the Dark Lord if he wasn't this sexually charged. And he was, he knew it. At this point, if anyone tried to have a go with him, he would happily oblige. Or at least that's what he told himself.

OoOoO

He felt oddly nervous when he stepped into the spray of water, as if he had never wanked before. It had been a while, but he had gone longer, for sure. And he had never been nervous about it, when he finally got the time to do it again. So what was going on? He tried to dismiss it as he relaxed into the warm water, slowly trailing his hand down his abdomen. When his hand did reach his member, he was shocked to find he was completely flaccid. Not that he had done much to himself, of course, but he was a teenage boy, just the mere thought of getting off should have him standing at attention.

He gave it a gentle tug experimentally, and another when he found that the first one had no effect.

"What the hell?"

Once more, he pulled on his completely uninterested prick. He even cupped his balls, massaging them gently. Nothing. Not even a twitch. He spent a few seconds wanking furiously, wondering what the hell was going on. Did he need Viagra now? Was he no longer capable of getting an erection?

That was impossible though, he had had one just that morning. Thinking about him. And his fingers. Once again, Harry reached for that soft spot on his neck and leaned into it, imagining long spidery fingers instead of his own much shorter ones. He traced another hand down his chest, trying his hardest to imitate what he had felt that morning, when he had been the one touching him. He wondered what it would feel like if there were lips on him instead of hands, and shivered at the thought.

Lips instead of hands.

His fingers once again wandered downwards, where he was finally hard. Hard as a rock if he were to admit it. Which he wasn't.

He sighed and laid his head back on the tiles, spreading his legs slightly so he could better grip on his balls, which were also tight with his arousal.

His hand moved achingly slow at first, as if it was doing it on its own accord without his permission. He wanted to go hard and fast, to speed to the finish and just get on with his life. But apparently, he was teasing himself today. Which was something he really hadn't done before. Which he thought odd. Why now?

His hand squeezed hard, making him yelp. He didn't recall making his hand do that at all. In fact, as he looked down at his member, he watched in awed silence as his own fingers massaged his cock, spasmodically squeezing it, making him wince with both pain and pleasure. And he wasn't doing it.

He tried to pry his hands from himself, and shock coiled through him as he realized that he couldn't remove them. His mind raced with possibilities, but only one really stood out in the forefront of his mind. Voldemort. He was doing this. Somehow, he was doing this. Harry knew that the Dark Lord had the ability to possess him when- oh, didn't that feel so good, though? His mind supplied stupidly as the hand sped up.

The Dark Lord could possess him when Harry was his Horcrux, but he wasn't anymore. So how was he doing this? And the Boy Who Lived knew it was him, because what else would be making this happen? Why would this-

_Lips and tongue on his earlobe, hands somehow everywhere at once. He could smell pine, which always seemed to linger around Voldemort, and he could taste his own sweat on his tongue. He arched himself into the man, whimpering. He wanted more, faster, and more. His own hands were reaching up then, trying to find something to grab onto. He found robes, and wanted to know what the Dark Lord was still doing with clothes on._

_"What- clothes, doing?" He heard a soft laugh from above him, but otherwise his inarticulate question went unheeded._

_"You taste delicious, Potter." Voldemort's words were hardly above a whisper, and the breath from them tickled his earlobe._

_"Ngh, more." Harry replied. Another soft laugh and a hand finally found his aching cock. The Boy Who Lived sucked in a breath and let it hiss back out._

_He bucked into the Dark Lord's soft touch, wanting to just go faster. Why was he being so gentle? Harry wanted it hard. Much harder than this._

_"Patience is a virtue."_

_It angered Harry that Voldemort seemed completely unaffected. He felt the need to see the man out of breath and panting with him. He let the urge take him over, and he trailed a hand down the Dark Lord's chest, finding the top of his trousers and going lower. He found that the man was indeed hard, and grinned at the thought that he had caused it._

_Voldemort growled into his neck when the Boy Who Lived's fingers grasped at him clumsily, and the hand on Harry's own member finally sped up. He moaned, and for a second he forgot completely about trying to get the other man off. He let the pleasure wash over him, his hand resting unmoved on the Dark Lord's hardness._

_Not long after Harry's hand had stopped moving, Voldemort nipped him sharply on the neck, causing him to unintentionally squeeze the man rather hard._

_"Shit," The Chosen one panted._

_"Sorry." He added._

_"No, do it again," was the reply._

_The Dark Lord liked it rough then, did he? Harry could roll with that. He grabbed the Dark Lord's member tightly through the fabric of his pants, and simultaneously threw his head up to bite the man on the neck, harder than he had bitten Harry. The hand on his own cock speed up to a furious pace, and got a rather primal moan from the Dark Lord for his efforts. Harry's other hand worked frantically to try and undo Voldmort's trousers, while at the same time trying not to cum before the Dark Lord did._

_Because in Harry's mind, this had just become a race._

_Finally, the button popped open, and the Boy Who Lived rejoiced. He was dangerously close to climax at this point, but he wanted so badly to make the Dark Lord cry out. He gripped the man with one hand, the other found his balls and he tightened his grip on both, pulling hard and fast._

_The Dark Lord's tongue was still tasting every part of Harry it could find, and that in itself was almost enough to make him moan. One hand was pumping him furiously. Harry had his legs spread wide open, almost painfully so. Another hand was trailing up and down his side, oddly gentle in comparison to the frantic movements that they were both making._

_Harry squeezed harder, wanting more of those delicious moans to come from the mouth currently nibbling his shoulder. And he was so close now he could feel it boiling his insides, desperate to escape._

_He bucked upwards so that their cocks touched for just a second, and groaned at the feel of it. He wanted the other man to cum. Before him._

_'I want you to cum,' The Boy Who Lived hissed in Parseltongue. This was his last ditch effort, because he was seconds from release. He got a loud growl from Voldemort, and grinned through his own panting._

_'Cum for me.' Harry demanded. Another growl and a bite that shivers through him. So close._

_'Cum. Now.' He arched upwards, touching them together once more. He had never tried to restrain an orgasm before, but he was now._

_'Now!' The Dark Lord bit harder and stiffened, groaning into Harry's shoulder. The Boy Who Lived felt the slickness of Voldemort's cum on his own member, and grinned in triumph. The Dark Lord, without warning, twisted Harry's cock._

Harry's eyes burst open just as he came more fiercely than he ever had in his life.

OoOoO

Harry paced nervously in the Dark Lord's study, wondering if he should just bring the rabbit back and send Voldemort an owl about it. The man hadn't shown up yet, though Harry was on time. Maybe he should just Portkey back and not even worry about the rabbit. Then he wouldn't have to see his face.

Harry had tried desperately to sleep after the incident in the shower. He had failed. In fact, he had sat on his bed with his eyes staring blankly at the far wall. What was that? And why had he enjoyed it? What was wrong with him? When the time had come to leave for the Dark Lord's manor, he had nearly had a panic attack.

What would he do when he was faced with the man that he had just _mindfucked_?

He made his decision then, and went to Portkey out of the manor.

"Potter," He heard from behind him. Harry cursed under his breath and turned slowly.

"Oh, hi. I didn't see you there," The Boy Who Lived was having a hard time warding off a mental breakdown.

"You know where the rabbit is," The Dark Lord gestured to where said rabbit was hanging.

"Yeah. yeah, right. I know where it is." Harry turned jerkily, his cheeks red. He faced the rabbit, and the Dark Lord left the room.

Once again, it came back without a hitch. Three days so far. That was more than enough in his opinion.

Harry was set to leave, when Voldemort reentered. Damn it, he thought. Why can't he just let me leave?

"Did it go well?"

Harry gestured to the very alive and very terrified rabbit. The Boy Who Lived wondered if it knew what was about to happen.

"Avada Kedavra," The Dark Lord waved his wand lazily and it fell dead.

"Is something the matter, Potter?"

Harry glanced at the man, having torn his gaze away from the dead ball of fluff.

"No. No not really. Actually, yeah, there is something. Were you in my head this morning?" his words came in a rush, and he could have sworn he saw a smirk flash across the Dark Lord's face.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Harry was sure it was no coincidence that Voldemort had used the same reply, when he had asked the man what he was doing when he had pinned Harry to the desk.

The desk not three feet from him, now cleared of books. He imagined it would be much more comfortable without them.

The Dark Lord followed Harry's gaze to the desk, and another sly grin appeared and disappeared off the man's face.

The Boy Who Lived blushed.

"Yeah, I'm gonna get going now. Can I leave Hellion here again? It's a pain sneaking him in and out of the Chamber." Harry's words were rushed once more, but Voldemort nodded and dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

He gratefully activated the Portkey and would have danced with relief, if he could have moved in the strange vacuum that the Portkey created.


	24. Admitting it

_(A/N hello there again. My mind has gone off on another tangent, again. So I was wondering what you guys would think of a oneshot from the Dark Lord's POV. Yes, I know, this is like, the hundredth time this has happened. But anyway. haha. None of the oneshots I write need to be read for this fic, they're just interesting little POV's. So never fear if you don't like the idea. _**Also, I'll be doing a rather large revamp on the first few chapters, as I have figured out how to fix up the time lapse in a way that benefits the plot. This may take a few days, as it's going to include the first five or so chapters. So it's unlikely that I'll be posting in that time. Thank's to Batsutousai for pointing it out :D**_)_

Harry walked down to breakfast the next morning, once again thinking about what had happened the previous morning. In fact, it had never left his mind. He was convinced that it was the Dark Lord's doing. It was no coincidence that Voldemort had said the very same thing twice. '_I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about,'_

_Yeah right, you don't_. Harry thought bitterly.

Harry took a seat next to Ginny in the great hall. She was glowing, and Harry couldn't help but smile with her. He was glad that she was happy. And he hoped that Eris was treating her right. To Harry, he seemed like a bit of an asshole.

"I'm going to see Eris tonight, you want to come?" She asked as she slipped various foods into a rucksack for the necromancer.

"Uh, no, I don't think so Gin. I don't think he's a fan of the Great and Fantastic Boy Who Lived." Harry said sarcastically.

"It's not that Harry, it's about the whole Death Eater thing." His eyes widened and he glanced around himself nervously. Though she had whispered it, someone might have heard.

"Ginny! Table manners!" Harry hissed.

"Sorry, sorry. He just doesn't like those sorts of people." She whispered.

"So how did things go last night?" Ginny looked over at him, nibbling on a piece of toast.

"It was, well, it was flat out awkward." Harry didn't plan on telling her about the shower incident at all. It was much too embarrassing.

"It was more awkward for me though. I think he thought it was funny, actually." Ginny surprised him by laughing.

"Ginny! This is so not funny!"

She covered her mouth with her hand, though she was obviously still snickering.

"It kind of is, Harry. I mean, he has the hots for you!" she was trying to take a sip of pumpkin juice, but every time the goblet came near her mouth, she would start laughing again.

"This is the worst possible time to discuss this." Harry put his face in his hands. Why did she do this? Bring things up in public?

"Are you gay, Harry?" His hands fell from his face in shock.

"Jesus Christ!" Harry stood up quickly, banging the back of his legs on the seat, and glared at the red head.

"Pardon?" She asked, that smile still on her face. Neville was watching the two of them, and he hoped that the other Gryffindor boy hadn't heard too much.

"Muggle expression. We'll talk about this later." He left the hall, no longer bothering with breakfast. He really wished that Ginny hadn't brought that up.

Now he was thinking about it all over again. Harry began to wonder if he had ever really been attracted to women in the first place. He had never felt the way he had when the Dark Lord had taken him over. But what if that was just because of the Horcrux? Or because they were so alike? And they were very alike, Harry had no allusions about that now.

Maybe he was gay? He was definitely turned on when Voldemort had touched him. Or not touched him, as it were. Since it was all in his mind. Though it was planted there by the Dark Lord, he was sure of it. But he was young. He was bound to be turned on if someone touched him like that. Wasn't he?

OoOoO

"You sure you don't want to come?"

Harry looked up from the potions book he was barely reading and glanced at Ginny. She was preparing to leave, and the two of them were the only ones in the common room.

"I think I'll be fine here. Besides, gotta go and do that thing at that place soon." He was referring to the resurrection of the rabbit. He had learned his lesson about talking to loudly about such things. Anyone could overhear. On that note, he cast Muffilato. Ginny was prone to saying things that she shouldn't at the wrong time.

"I think it would be good if you spoke to Eris. You know, clear the air." Harry narrowed his eyes as she sat beside him.

"I don't even understand what his problem is. I didn't do anything to him." He frowned and the red head shrugged her shoulders.

"I spoke to him about it. He's hard to read, most times. From what I gather, he's not fond of You-Know-Who. And since you're the Boy Who Lived, and you joined the Dark side, it's hard for him to like you."

Harry sighed and leaned back into the cushions, wondering if that was truly Eris' only problem with him. It seemed to Harry that there was far more animosity than just resentment for the Dark Lord.

"Maybe I will go with you." He said finally, and Ginny grinned at him.

If he was late for his meeting with Voldemort, he would just use his Time Turner. He planned to read the necromancer's mind, because at that point, he was truly curious about what the man really thought of him.

OoOoO

He followed the smallest Weasley as she crossed the grounds, heading toward the Whomping Willow. Harry had tried to get her under the invisibility cloak, but she had refused and bounded ahead, obviously too excited to care about getting caught.

He watched as she took a running dive at the base of the tree, not even giving him time to stop her.

He needn't have worried though, because she found the appropriate root and the tree promptly stopped moving.

"Bloody hell, Ginny. Give me a heart attack why don't you." He said as he approached.

"I'm quicker than I look," She smiled as she entered the tunnel.

"I'll say." he muttered.

OoOoO

Harry was standing in the far corner of the shack, watching as Ginny and Eris were having what appeared to be a heated argument. The older necromancer appeared to be refusing something, and the red head seemed to be persisting.

This had been going on for quite some time. The Boy Who Lived huffed from his corner, and decided this had gone on long enough.

"Gin, give us a minute?" Harry asked. She looked wary, but she nodded and slowly backed out of the room. Eris instantly faced away from Harry, crossing his arms like an angry child.

Harry sighed, and made his way over and stood beside the man. Said necromancer looked away pointedly.

"So, what is it exactly that you hate so much about me?" Harry needed the man to look at him, because he was planning on entering his mind. He was quickly rewarded when Eris turned his head and glared at him. The Boy Who Lived entered his mind quickly, and was surprised at the anger he found there. A fair lot of it was directed at him.

'How dare he think that he can take her from me? She is mine.' He only wondered who Eris meant for all of a second before he realized he meant Ginny.

"Oh!" Harry laughed.

"Is that what you think?"

Eris looked confused. The smaller of the two was smiling hugely and trying to hold in another fit of laughter.

"What are you talking about? I never answered you." Apparently, Harry had shocked the man into talking. Good.

"That obviously means that she never told you." The Boy Who Lived said, more to himself.

"Told me what?" The shaggy haired man asked.

"She's in love with you, not me. I have no idea what would give you the impression that I'm after her." Understanding flashed in the older man's eyes.

"You read my mind," It wasn't a question. Harry nodded.

"And is that supposed to make me believe you? Just your word that you aren't after her?"

Harry had no idea why Eris was so pissy about it. The Boy Who Lived had given no indication that he was interested in Ginny, and she had made it clear that she was in love with the shaggy, moody man before him.

"Look, Ginny is like a sister to me. I would do anything for her, including get along with you. She loves you. And besides, I think I'm-" Harry had been about to say 'gay,' but he stopped himself. No need for the grumpy necromancer to know about his sexual confusion.

"You think you're what?" Eris pressed, obviously desperate for anything that would make him believe that Harry wasn't interested in the youngest Weasley. Harry sighed. Wondering whether he should tell him. It would help to get the man of his back. And it wasn't like he was going to go out and tell everyone about it. He was stuck in the shack. And even if he did, what was the big deal?

"I think I'm gay." Harry thought it odd that Eris would be the first one he admitted this too, but he figured that it would help ease the animosity between them.

Eris nodded, as if that was all he needed to hear. "Well, I'll leave you two alone then, sounds like you have a lot to talk about." Harry said, and he tapped his wand on the snake ring.

OoOoO

As soon as Harry found his feet in the Dark Lord's study, he realized that he was early. Because the man who was sitting in Voldemort's chair was the much more human looking Tom Riddle, not the intimidating form he usually used. As soon as the Dark Lord laid eyes on the Boy Who Lived, his face began morphing back into its usual snake like appearance. Anger was evident in his eyes.

"You're early." He stated, surprising Harry with his rather calm voice.

He decided it was a bad idea to bring up anything about what he had seen, since he obviously wasn't supposed to have seen it.

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't cast a Tempus before I left. Should I just get on with it then?" Harry gestured to the dead rabbit.

It appeared that ignoring that the Dark Lord had looked like his old self was a good plan of action, because the Voldemort stood and nodded, leaving the room. Harry let out a breath that he had only just realized he was holding.

Being on the Dark Lord's side was definitely harder. He had no idea when the man was going to explode in a fit of anger. Or touch him inappropriately. Or appropriately, his treacherous mind added. He ignored it.

He started to concentrate on the rabbit, and finally, the thing went rabid when it awoke. Harry didn't have time to draw his wand, and he had to stomp on its head to keep it from gnawing on his leg. Three days was the max, obviously. Or maybe there was a limit to how many times he could bring something back. Either way, it was a pretty handy ability to have. The only flaw that Harry found with it, was that he couldn't control what he brought back, as a true necromancer could.

The Dark Lord reentered, and Harry began to picture him with hair. He had to admit, Voldemort could be pretty damn delicious when he wanted to be. The Boy Who Lived then made a promise to himself that he would be seeing more of the man's true face. No matter how much the man himself protested.

(_A/N yay! Normal looking Dark Lord. Huge thanks to my Beta, Kimba Lionheart. You are a legend :D)_


	25. Head trip for the mortal earthbound

(_A/N. All the work has been done with the fixing of Harry's 'holiday'. Sorry to those that this P*ssed off, but this story was originally just fun and games for me, so the time weirdness didn't worry me as such. But its all fixed now, since this story has taken up a special place in my heart. As have all of you. *love* I believe it affects chapters one through seven. Feel free to read them again, but if not, below is the gist of it. __**If you plan to go back and reread, don't read any further than this point- **__so basically, Harry has to return to Privet drive, at the request of Dumbledore, because the blood wards are apparently failing. This is because Harry's magical core has begun to reject the protection, since it is predominately light. So Harry does return, not for long though, and decides, 'screw the wards, I'm out.' Problem solvered, me thinks. __**End of bit that explains stuff. Carry on ladies and gentlemen**__.)_

Harry was sitting across from the Dark Lord, staring blankly at the man, trying to picture him once again in his true Tom Riddle form. It was getting harder to do, since it had been two days since he had laid eyes on the much sexier version of Voldemort. The Boy Who Lived had no idea how he was supposed to fulfill his earlier promise to himself, because neither he nor the Dark Lord had mentioned anything about what Harry had witnessed. And he knew that if he brought it up, he would likely be cursed for it.

The Chosen One sighed loudly, forgetting where he was.

"Is there a problem, Potter?" Harry realized that he had been staring right through Voldemort, and blushed slightly.

"No, I'm all good." He looked away from the Dark Lord, his eyes landing on the hook that the dead rabbit used to hang from.

"Do you think that three days is the limit, or I can only bring something back three times?" Harry continued, effectively killing anything that the Dark Lord had been about to say.

"That's a good question, we'll have to test that theory. Though I believe you can only bring a something back three times. Otherwise, you could effectively keep someone alive forever, assuming they never left your side. And that would basically overrule Death. Even though he gifted you, I doubt that he would want you to cancel out death completely."

"Yeah, that makes more sense, I guess. Then how long can I really wait before I bring something back? Or, maybe, I can bring something back more than three times, but I can't bring something back after three days. Man, this is confusing." Harry grumbled.

"Yes, I suppose it is." That was apparently the end of the discussion, because the Dark Lord lowered his gaze to the books on his desk. However, Harry wasn't done.

"What about people? I've never brought back a person. Not successfully, anyway. Maybe they're different."

"Possibly." Was all the Dark Lord said in return, not looking up.

Harry sighed once more. Here we go again, he thought. This was the hundredth time Voldemort had ignored him, and the Boy Who Lived was sure the man did it just to piss him off.

"Can I try?"

"Pardon?" He still did not look at Harry.

"Can I kill someone and give it a go?" He repeated.

"I wasn't aware you were so bloodthirsty, Potter." Harry gave him the finger, feeling safe in the knowledge that the man wasn't looking at him to see it.

"Hey, I've killed before." He replied indignantly.

"The Weasley spawn did not count. He was hardly alive to begin with." The Dark Lord turned the page of his book lazily, and something about the action made Harry's stomach jump. He couldn't figure out why, though, so he dismissed it.

"He wasn't the only one," Voldemort finally looked up and frowned at Harry.

"The mudblood did not count either, she killed herself." The boy who lived rolled his eyes.

"What would make you think that I would count her? No, I'm talking about the guards in Azkaban."

"Oh? I wasn't aware that you had even encountered any."

"Well, yeah, I did. And I can safely say that they are all dead now. Or soulless. It was kind of hard to not encounter them, with the racket Ginny was causing."

"Hmm. I'm quite impressed. I have to admit I did not think you capable of killing yet. Torture, yes, killing, no."

Harry smirked.

"So? Got any Death Eaters that you don't care about?"

"I can tell you now that I don't care for any of them. Though some are more useful than others. But I have the perfect candidate."

"What about me? Do you care for me?" Harry asked, putting the same emphasis on the word 'care' that the Dark Lord had. Voldemort seemed to think it better to completely ignore that Harry had said anything. Instead, he stood and raised his wand and called out the Death Eater's name. Obviously this was how he called his minions.

"Peter Pettigrew." The Boy Who Lived's eyes bulged at the name, and Voldemort took his seat once more.

"Once you bring him back, if it works, I give you permission to do whatever you like with him."

"Oh really? And what is it you want in return?" Harry knew, logically, that the Dark Lord gave nothing away for free.

"You are rather astute, aren't you? I want simply this, to remain present when you resurrect him."

If Harry himself had not felt the powerful rush of the magic first hand, he would have thought the request odd. But he had felt it, and it was addictive. No matter how much the Dark Lord denied it, he was addicted to the Boy Who Lived's magic.

"That sounds fine to me. Better even. I don't even have to do anything." Harry grinned.

"Quite so." The Dark Lord agreed, seemingly relieved that Harry had not mentioned the strangeness of the request, and had agreed so easily.

Not long afterward, the loud pop of Apparation interrupted their thoughts.

"My Lord," The Boy Who Lived heard the snivelly voice come from behind him, and he turned to face the man who betrayed his parents.

"My Lord! You caught him!" Peter exclaimed, clearly not noticing how at ease the Chosen One seemed to be around the man who had supposedly captured him.

"Hello, Ratface," Harry greeted. Pettigrew seemed confused by the nature of the greeting, and how cheery the Boy Who Lived seemed, but continued to praise Voldemort on the capture.

"I think that you will find that I did no capturing of any sort. The boy came to me." The Dark Lord had a sneer on his face, and it was clear that he had no respect for the man now groveling at his feet.

"That is even better, my Lord! The brat can tell that you are superior and bound to win!"

"How dare you speak of him that way!" Voldemort hissed, kicking the man in the ribs. And once again, Harry's eyes bulged. Was Voldemort defending his honor? If so, why? He couldn't really care, could he?

"My- my lord?" Pettigrew seemed to finally take in the strange companionship between the Dark Lord and the Boy Who Lived, and became appropriately wary.

Voldemort drew his wand and quickly Crucioed Peter. Harry had not taken his eye's of the Dark Lord since he had reprimanded Pettigrew for his rude behavior, and he couldn't seem to look away. The Dark Lord glanced at Harry, and smirked at the wonder that was written all over the boy's face. He had not yet lifted the Crucio, and the rat-faced man at his feet was screaming helplessly.

Apparently, Voldemort was not going to silence the man. He seemed to be enjoying the man's ear splitting screams too much. Harry raised an eyebrow in question, but the Dark Lord just continued to smirk at him, his eyes slightly hooded.

When he finally released the curse, he had not yet looked away from the Boy Who Lived, and in turn, the Boy Who Lived had not taken his eyes of the Dark Lord.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Voldemort finally asked.

"With pleasure." Harry smirked. He took his dead ash wand from within his robes, and pointed it at the man on the ground, still panting.

Peter seemed to realize that this was not a good thing, and quickly began to grovel at Harry's feet, instead of the Dark Lord's.

The Boy Who Lived sneered in disgust.

"You're going to die now, Peter, but I can't guarantee that it will be the end of your suffering." If Harry had looked up at the Dark Lord at that moment, he would have seen the fierce lust burning in the man's eyes. But he did not look up. Instead, he was relishing the fear that was clearly written on Pettigrew's face.

"Please! Please, I never meant you disrespect, you understand don't you? You're such a smart boy, of course you do! You wouldn't be here if you didn't! So what do you say? Spare your Uncle Peter?" At the last part, Harry jabbed his wand sharply into Pettigrew's face.

"You're disgusting, you know that?" Harry spat.

"I mean, honestly. What makes you think that I'm even going to consider sparing you? Wait, don't answer that. Avada Kedavra." Peter slumped forward, and his head landed on Harry's lap. The Boy Who Lived stood quickly and made a disgusted noise. He looked over at the Dark Lord, who had long ago masked his emotions.

"You ready?" Harry asked.

"Of course." Voldemort stood as well, and had the sense to cast a sticking charm on his feet. Harry did the same, because he had no desire to go flying into a wall. Without the euphoria that he used to experience, all he would get out of it would be pain.

Harry began to concentrate on the dead form of Peter, and found that it was harder to bring back the person if he wasn't particularly fond of them. And he really didn't like Pettigrew. But eventually, it worked.

Even with the sticking charms, both he and the Dark Lord were thrown backwards. Harry hit the far wall, which he had hit once before. Voldemort skidded along the ground, coming to a halt not far from the wall furthest from the Boy Who Lived.

Peter Pettigrew was also thrown, but not to the extent that Harry was. The rat faced man came scrambling to the Chosen One, with something like reverence in his eyes.

"Let me help you master," Harry was almost certain that he had dislocated his shoulder, but Peter's words shocked him so strongly that he nearly forgot the pain.

"Pardon?" Harry spluttered.

"Let me help you master," Pettigrew repeated. Again, the Boy Who Lived was dumbfounded.

"Why are you calling me master?"

"Because you are my master." Peter looked confused. So did Harry.

"Why?"

"I- I don't know. You just are. I can feel it." Now what does that mean? Harry wondered. Was this just a ruse that Peter was putting up on the slim chance that he might let the rat go? He needed to discuss this new development with the Dark Lord. But currently, Voldemort was writhing on the ground, with soft, near silent moans escaping his lips. Right then.

"Stupify." Harry said, pointing his wand at Pettigrew.

His shoulder was definitely dislocated, he decided as he shuffled across the floor towards the Dark Lord, not trusting himself to try and stand with one hand.

"Hey Baldy. How's it going?" He asked, and Voldemort ignored him.

And he continued to ignore him for a further ten minutes. Harry took advantage of that time to heal his shoulder. He was crouched at the Dark Lord's side, sending concerned glances in Peter's direction. The stunner should have been wearing off soon. He could have been just lying there, pretending to be unconscious. The Boy Who Lived sent another stunner at the rat man, just in case.

"Hello there," Voldemort said cheerfully.

"Hello yourself, Baldy. How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic. Why does your magic do this?"

"I don't know, but I wish yours did the same thing to me. That would be awesome." Harry grinned.

"Are you insulting my magic?" The Dark Lord looked only slightly affronted.

"Only a little bit." Harry got an idea then.

"Hey, Baldy, remember the other day when I got here early and you looked like your old self?" He began slowly, hoping that he wouldn't hit a nerve. Though it was unlikely to happen, given the Dark Lord's current state.

"Yes, I do. You looked pretty good that day, if I may be so forward." Voldemort had a stupid grin on his face.

"Er, yeah sure. But, um, could I maybe see you like that again?" Harry said quickly.

"Only if you give me something in return."

The Boy Who Lived had a feeling that this might be the case.

"What would that be?"

"It's a secret. I'll tell you afterwards."

Harry frowned. He really wanted to see Voldemort as Tom Riddle, but was feeling incredibly wary of anything the Dark Lord might want him to do while high off his necromancy magic.

Eventually, his curiosity won out, and he agreed.

Watching the Dark Lord Voldemort turn into a real human being right before his eyes was a rather fascinating experience for Harry. He couldn't hold back his grin as he watched, and couldn't help the little bubble of lust forming in his stomach.

Hair sprouted quickly all over the Dark Lord's head, dark brown and incredibly well behaved, falling just above his shoulders in waves. His eyes remained crimson, though Harry could swear that he saw silvery grey flecks when he looked closely. His nose was next, and the Boy Who Lived decided that he liked the barely noticeable bump in the bridge. _It must have been broken at some point, _he figured. His lips were much fuller, and Harry hadn't even noticed them changing. He was to busy watching his nose.

The Dark Lord had red and patchy checks, and he looked drunk. Harry found it incredibly endearing, because he may have been the only person living who had seen Voldemort with ruddy checks and a stupid grin. _He looks so human. _Harry wanted to reach out and touch his face, but stopped himself.

"There." Tom said when he was done. Because Harry couldn't think of him as Voldemort when he looked like that.

"Do you like what you see?" He grinned cheekily, and Harry blushed, because yes, he did like what he saw. Very much.

"Now, I believe we had a deal." Riddle sat up, because up until that point, he had been laying on his back with his arms propping his head up.

"What is it that you want?" Harry was once again feeling fearful of what Tom wanted, not because he afraid the man would make him do something he didn't want to do, because he could handle that. Rather, he was afraid that the man might make him do something that he really _wanted_ to do.

The Dark Lord had been inching closer to Harry without the Boy Who lived really noticing. But when he did notice, he backed up a bit, feeling increasingly nervous now.

"It's hardly anything that you might consider hard," Tom was whispering, and the Boy Who Lived was having a hard time hearing him over the blood pumping furiously in his ears.

Riddle reached for Harry's face slowly, as if he might startle the boy out of the trance he seemed to be in. The Chosen One didn't move, and he hardly dared to breathe. He wondered what exactly the Dark Lord wanted. It was clear at that point that he wanted some sort of physical contact, but how much of it, exactly, did he really want?

Tom's fingers traced Harry's lips just as slowly, and the Boy Who Lived found that his eyes were fluttering shut, entirely without his permission.

"Hmm, you are exquisite, aren't you?" Riddle whispered, his fingers trailing from Harry's lips down his neck, once again finding that one place that seemed to make Harry insane. He drew in a sharp breath, and leaned into the Dark Lord's touch.

He knew, on some level, that he wasn't entirely sure if this was what he wanted. But that part of him was incredibly small right then.

"You're mine now,_ Harry._" The Boy Who Lived was vaguely aware of the snake language, and the fact that Voldemort had once again used his first name. This time though, Harry wasn't on the verge of losing consciousness. Or maybe he was. He didn't know. The hand had come back up into the hair on the back of his head, and Harry found that he wanted it to be pulled. As if Tom could hear what he was thinking, Harry's head was yanked back, hard. He couldn't stop the yelp that escaped his lips, and he opened his eyes to see the Dark Lord hovering above his face.

"_Say it,_" Riddle demanded, and Harry was confused about what exactly he was supposed to say.

"_Say that you are mine_," But wait. Harry didn't belong to any one, did he?

"I'm not yours. I'm not anybody's." The Boy Who Lived voiced his thoughts, and he did notice how raspy his voice sounded.

Tom let out an angry growl and pulled Harry's head back further, so much so that he was struggling to catch a breath. And he found that he really liked the feeling. He decided that he might have been quite insane, but he wanted the Dark Lord to pull harder.

Tom began to nibble on his earlobe, and once again, he got lost in the Dark Lord's ministrations.

"_Say it, Harry._" Again, Harry decided that he didn't belong to any one. But this time, he only really refused because he wanted Tom to pull on his hair again.

"_No_," He added the parseltongue, because he knew the effect it had on the Dark Lord. His efforts were rewarded immediately.

Tom jerked Harry so hard that he fell onto his back, his head supported by Riddle's hand. Tom shifted so that he was straddling the Boy Who Lived, and Harry unconsciously bucked upwards. The Dark Lord leaned forward so that his mouth was on Harry's shoulder blade, and he removed his hand from the Chosen One's hair.

He then bit down, lightly at first, then harder. Harry's hands came up to rest on the back of the Dark Lord's head, pushing it down, forcing the man to bite harder. He quickly obliged, and Harry yelped and once again thrust upward, earning himself a moan from Tom.

"_Say, it,_" the Dark Lord was panting then.

"No." Harry said simply, and Riddle brought himself up so that he was nose to nose with the Boy Who Lived.

"Say it." The whole mood had changed, and Harry could feel it, even through his lust induced haze. It had gotten dangerous, but there was something else. Something like desperation, clear as day in the Dark Lord's eyes. _By god. He is beautiful_. Harry thought stupidly. _But he stopped touching me. Maybe I should just tell him what he wants so that he'll touch me again. Yeah, that's what I'll do. _

"_I'm yours_."

A maniacal grin graced Tom's features for all of a second, but before Harry could figure out what that meant, the Dark Lord had crashed his mouth into Harry's.

"_Mine_," Tom mumbled into his lips.

"_Yours_." Harry agreed, throwing his arms around the man's neck and pulling him closer.


	26. All new problems

(_A/N Hi there. :D so the last chapter was supposed to go rather differently, and was supposed to include some much needed conversations. Only a little bit of that happened, because my Harry and Tom are naughty. Anyway, here some are, hopefully, at least. Reviews make me giggle manically. No, seriously. They really do.) _

Harry had the distinct impression that the Dark Lord hadn't been as inebriated as he let on. Not towards the end, anyway. And Harry knew, without a doubt, that the man would remember everything that had happened. When he awoke at least. The man in question had fallen asleep unceremoniously on Harry's chest. That had definitely given the Boy Who Lived time to realize what had just happened. And become suitably embarrassed and confused.

He had fled the manor almost as soon as he had maneuvered the Dark Lord off of himself, but first, he locked Pettigrew in a cell in the underbelly of the house, leaving a note informing Voldemort that there was something very wrong with the rat. He had also once again left Hellion in the care of the Dark Lord, since he and Nagini seemed to get along.

That had been roughly an hour ago, and he was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, on his own because of the late hour. He was entirely and completely dumbfounded by what had happened. And he had let it happen so easily. Like some sort of crazed dog in heat. And the whole thing with agreeing to be Voldemort's, worried him no end. What exactly did the Dark Lord mean when he said that?

Was it just a meaningless thing? Words randomly spewed out in the heat of passion? Or was it something more complicated than that? Harry assumed that the Dark Lord never said anything for no reason. And that made him even more wary. Then there was the whole question of whether Harry even wanted any of this to happen. His body certainly did, that was obvious. And when Voldemort tried anything on him, he tended to be completely powerless to stop it. And at the time, he didn't want to. But did he truly want to go down this road?

And did the Dark Lord? Was he just doing this to mess with him, just trying to add bonking the Boy Who Lived to his list of accomplishments? It would certainly be an impressive feat, taking into account the fact that months prior, the two had been mortal enemies. But the way that the Dark Lord had defended his honor to Pettigrew made him wonder if that was truly the case.

But Voldemort wasn't capable of true affection, was he? Definitely not love.

Harry's thought's were interrupted by the sound of the portrait hole opening, and

he turned to face it, curious about who could possibly be out this late after curfew.

He saw the tousled red hair straight away, and he shouldn't have been surprised that it was Ginny. And judging by the stupid grin on her face, and the way her hair was all over the place, made Harry assume that her meeting with Eris had gone well.

"What were you doing out this late after curfew, Gin?" Harry waggled his eyebrow, making it perfectly clear that he knew exactly what she had been doing.

"Harry! You're still up!"

Harry blinked at her and resisted the urge to tell her that no, he was in fact asleep.

"Yup, still awake."

"Oh, well, um." She stood awkwardly at the entrance, and seemed, oddly, to be waiting for a scalding.

"Ginny, I'm not angry. Just disappointed." Harry hid his smirk well, and almost laughed as her eyes widened.

"Oh, Harry! I didn't do anything wrong, though!" She looked genuinely upset, and Harry wondered why she thought that he would be disappointed.

"You shouldn't be out after curfew. You should know better."

Her eyes widened further and she had obviously caught on to the fact that Harry was having a joke at her expense.

"Screw you," She was smiling as she said it, and came to sit next to Harry on the couch, looking into the fire.

"You looked all bashful so I thought I would just run with it." Harry grinned at her.

"Shut up, Harry. It's not my fault I'm so gullible. So why are you up so late?" Harry's smile fell instantly from his face as he remembered why he was previously staring sullenly into the flames.

"Oh, that. It's complicated." She caught the seriousness of his tone and turned herself so that she was facing him completely.

"How complicated?"

"Pretty damn complicated. And confusing." Harry crossed his arms across his chest, looking everywhere but at the red head beside him.

"Has it got to do with Him?"

"I think that it's so funny that you don't say his name when no one is around." Harry replied sullenly.

"So it is about him? Say no more then." The Boy Who Lived turned his gaze onto Ginny.

"What's that supposed to mean?" His eyes narrowed.

"I've just seen the way he looks at you. Something was bound to happen."

"What do you mean something was bound to happen?" Harry was frowning now, and for some reason he was slightly offended.

"Exactly that, Harry."

"And what do you mean 'the way he looks at me?'" Harry knew, at this point, what she was talking about. He had begun to see the looks the Dark Lord shot his way, but he hadn't realized that Ginny had taken notice. He was embarrassed now, and still offended. But he knew it was because Ginny was always right. And she noticed things Harry himself did not.

"You know exactly what I mean, Harry James Potter." She had her stern 'Molly Weasley' face on, and the Boy Who Lived just frowned in response.

"Fine. Something did happen. And I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. Or if I want it. God, Ginny, how did this happen? This time last year I was thinking about Quiddich, not snogging_ Dark Lords._" he hissed the last part under his breath.

"So you kissed him then?" Harry nodded stiffly, his lips pursed.

"Well, I would say that I'm happy for you, but I'm not sure that you're happy about it."

"You're damn right I'm not happy about it! Well, I mean, I don't really know. If I'm happy or not, I mean. And if I were to decide that I didn't want this, I can't really turn around and say, 'hey, you know what, let's not do this.' Because he is the _Dark Lord_. He's hardly going to take what I want into account. He takes what he wants. And he never lets it go." Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't know what to say to help you, Harry."

Harry snorted.

"And even Ginny Weasley can't help me. I must be screwed. Wanna come and keep me company while I throw myself off the astronomy tower?" He was only half joking.

"Harry, it can't be that bad. I mean, do you, um, do you like what he does?" A blush crept into Ginny's checks.

"You mean, when he kisses me?" Ginny nodded furiously, glad she didn't have to say it.

"Yeah. Yeah I really do. Isn't that messed up?"

"Er. It is a little. He looks like a lizard."

"Oh! He didn't. Not when he kissed me. He looked like him." Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"He can do that? I thought he was a permanent reptile."

Harry shrugged.

"I don't know how he does it either. But he looks, erm. Better? Much better." Harry noticed that Ginny was smirking.

"What?"

"Nothing, Harry, just seems like you have a crush." Harry spluttered, and stared at the red head disbelievingly.

"That means nothing, Gin. Honestly, I'm a teenager, I'm going to react like that no matter what. And just because I think he's good looking doesn't mean anything, either. It's just an observation." She just kept grinning, obviously unconvinced.

"Do you think he's handsome, Harry?" The Boy Who Lived glared daggers at the red head.

"So, how was your night with Eris?" he asked, changing the subject. As he had hoped, she blushed and mumbled something incoherent.

"Exactly. Not so fun when we're talking about you, is it?"

"Alright, alright, point taken. But you should definitely figure out what you want, before you get too far down the rabbit hole."

Harry blinked.

"I'm pretty sure that's a muggle expression."

"Yeah, dad says it a lot. G'night, Harry." She stood to leave, giving Harry a small wave.

"Night, Gin."

OoOoO

The next day, Harry had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins. The first thing that Harry noticed was that Draco Malfoy seemed to be trying to get his attention. The second, was that all of the Slytherins appeared to be eyeing him with what looked to be a mix between fear and wonder. And that was never a good thing.

Harry decided to ignore them until the end of class, until he could talk to Malfoy and find what was going on. He just hoped that his own house didn't notice the strange way they were watching him.

When he left the classroom, he didn't get a chance straight away to talk to the blonde, because Ginny was waiting outside the door for him.

"Hey, what's up?" Harry asked when he saw the concerned look in her eyes.

"Have you noticed anything strange about the Slytherins?" She whispered. Harry frowned. Were they looking at Ginny the same way too? That could only mean nothing good. Ahead of him, he saw Malfoy stop and fiddle with his bag as the rest of their classmates left the area.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, hoping that she meant something different than what he thought.

"They were looking at me really strangely in potions. And not the usual, 'eww, Weasley,' way, in a 'holy crap she's scary,' way."

"Damn it, they were looking at me the same way." Harry then began to approach Malfoy, who was still fiddling with his bag. The corridor was clear, and Harry had the feeling that the blonde was waiting for him and trying to be inconspicuous about it.

"What's going on?" Harry cut to the chase.

"I have no idea what you're talking about _Potter,_" He spat the last part, and was looking between Harry and Ginny warily. The Boy Who Lived guessed that it was because he wasn't sure if he could say what he needed to say in front of the red head.

"You can say it in front of her." Harry did appreciate the secrecy, and was comforted by the fact that Malfoy wasn't about to say something potentially incriminating in front of anyone but him. He still looked wary, but he eventually nodded.

"The Slytherins, One of them heard a rumor from one of their parents. Apparently, their mother was recently imprisoned in Azkaban. Anyway, their father went to visit her in the prison, and she had something rather strange to tell him."

Harry blanched and looked at Ginny. She looked equally concerned.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked nervously, scanning the hallway for any left over Gryffindors.

"She said that there was a raid. And in that raid, there were two Death Eaters who came into her block and broke out a prisoner. And, so she says, their names were Harry and Ginny." Harry's hand came up to smack himself in the face.

"Holy shit."

"Oh, no," Ginny said at the same time.

"So it was you two, then? Merlin! I can't believe it! I thought it was just bullshit!" Malfoy spluttered.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry, I was so preoccupied, I forgot to call you by the name he gave you!" Harry shook his head in shock.

"It's not your fault. It probably would have been fine if I hadn't called you by your name at the end."

Harry now recalled perfectly, that he had called her Gin. He had completely forgotten to call her Marie.

"_Hey, anything for you, Ginny_."

Shit.

"I still can't believe you two joined him!" Harry's head snapped up and he glared at Malfoy.

"Hey, assumption is the mother of all fuck ups. We didn't join him. We simply had mutual goals." Harry said, and Ginny looked at him carefully, before saying;

"Well, you've kind of joined him." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ginny, what have I told you about saying inappropriate things and inappropriate times?"

"Oh. To not do it? Sorry."

Malfoy was watching Harry with increasing fascination, and the Boy Who Lived flinched.

"Listen, Malfoy, it's time for damage control. I'll be useless to the Dark Lord if I get outed this early in the game. Do whatever you have to do to keep the Slytherin's quiet. How long have they known?" The blonde's eyes widened and he shook his head as if in shock.

"Er, yeah, um, I think only today? I only heard this morning, and I'm always the first to know." Harry nodded.

"Do whatever you have too." Harry repeated.

"If worst comes to worst, tell them the Dark Lord will bloody skin them if the headmaster finds out. And he will, I guarantee it. Right now, I'm his greatest asset. Who would suspect me, of all people?"

Malfoy nodded, and Harry dismissed him, and he and Ginny shared a look. The small red head looked absolutely terrified.

"It's okay, Gin. We just have to be vigilant. We'll work it out."

"I really hope so, Harry."


	27. No funny business no really I mean it

(_A/N naww you guys are so lovely. I love you :D your reviews make me all giggley. :P another chapter! And so soon! Haha. Enjoy. And review or you will feel my wrath. Mwahaha!)_

_Is there a reason there is an alive rat in my basement? I was certain you would have killed it. _

_T._

Harry stared at the letter for a rather long time, until the eagle owl nipped at him impatiently, obviously waiting for a reply. But he was nervous to respond. Why hadn't the Dark Lord mentioned what happened? Should Harry mention what happened? Would he get in trouble if he did? The owl nipped at him once more, and he scowled at it.

"Alright, alright, just give me a second, would you?" Harry took a seat at the small desk next to his bed, and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.

_Yeah, it was acting strangely. It called me master. Is it still doing that? Maybe it's a side affect. It would be a good side effect. I wonder why the rabbits weren't the same. I thought I would lock it up down there until you got a look at it. _

Harry paused, truly conflicted about wether or not he should ask about what happened. What if Voldemort didn't remember? Harry doubted it. He himself had remembered what had happened each time he had been affected by the magic, and the Dark Lord seemed no different. The Boy Who Lived frowned. Voldemort was messing with him. He had to be.

_And I was wondering, what the hell happened last night? Why did you do that? And the time before that? And that whole thing with the shower? And don't bullshit me because I know that was you. How did you do it? And why? _

_H._

Harry paused once more, his heart pumping hard and fast in chest. Should he send it? Or just write a new one? The eagle owl hooted angrily from the window, and spurred him into action. _Screw it. _He thought. _I need to know either way. It's not like he's going to kill me for asking. I'm too valuable._

He tied the letter to the owl's leg, and it bit him.

"Ow, bastard, get outta here." Harry waved his arm at the bird, and it glared at him before throwing itself out of the window. As soon as it was out of sight, his stomach plummeted and his heart rate increased ten fold.

"Oh, shit. What the hell did I just do?"

_OoOoO_

It was late, and his dorm mates had all come shouting up the stairs. Harry was still staring, dumbfounded, out of the window, wanting nothing more than to melt into the ground, never to be seen again.

"Harry, you alright?" Neville asked. Harry turned, having not even noticed his house mates entrance, regardless of how loud they had been.

"Oh, yeah I will be I guess. No one has seen or heard anything about Hermione. I'm just worried. And Ron. This is just a mess." Neville nodded in understanding.

"I miss them too, mate. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll find Hermione. She's to clever too- too, um, you know." Harry was certain that Neville had been about to say 'die.'

_Are you sure, Neville? _

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. It's just been so long. And it doesn't look like Dumbledore has really done anything. It's so frustrating." Harry sighed, and looked back out of the window, His stomach dropping once more.

Neville didn't say anything else. The other three boys got prepared for bed, but the Boy Who Lived couldn't tear himself away from the window. It had been an hour since he had received the letter, and the Dark Lord was likely reading his reply right at that second. Harryfound himself hoping that Voldemort didn't blow him off, like he had before.

He was also hoping that the bird would be struck by lighting on the way.

Harry was about to give up watching the window and get ready for bed, when he spotted a shape in the distance that looked suspiciously like an eagle owl. His legs went numb, and he whimpered. His house mates were long ago asleep, and he was glad that they hadn't heard the noise he had just made. If he were truthful, he would have to say it was pitiful.

After a few minutes of watching the speck grow larger, the eagle owl swooped onto the sill, sending a gush of air into Harry's face. He quickly tore the letter from it's leg, half from anxiousness to read the letter, and half fear that it would bite him again.

He held the letter in his hands and stared at it, wide eyed. The eagle owl waited on the sill, so it was obvious that he was supposed to reply. Harry took a deep breath and opened the letter.

_Yes, actually, it is still calling you master. Very curious. And I think it's a good thing you locked it up. We will need to do further tests. _

Harry hesitated before reading the next paragraph. It was long, so obviously, he hadn't blown him off, but he was still nervous to read it. The start of the letter didn't seem angry, but anger didn't transfer well through written word. Unless it was a howler.

_It seems you've been holding onto these question for a while. To answer your last question first, I didn't do much at all when it came to the shower. In fact, it was practically your doing. However, I did cast a spell on you. It was a simple one, it turns your own fantasies into a vivid waking dream. I'm flattered that you consider me to be your biggest fantasy. _

_I did it because I was curious. Of course, I only had a slight inkling that I might star in your fantasies. Afterwards, when you mentioned it to me, I knew at once it was me you saw. As for when I did it, it was the night previous, when I pinned you to the desk. It requires close contact to become effective. _

_So I suppose that answers another of your questions. _

_As for last night. I am not even sure. But I rather enjoyed myself. And I'm certain that you did too. _

_T._

Harry was blushing furiously by the end of it. His own fantasy? That wasn't possible. He had to be lying. And then there was the whole shenanigan with his hand moving on its own. Harry once again took a seat at his desk, and penned his reply.

_You've got to be lying. There was no way that you were my biggest fantasy. I didn't even have one. I was to busy fighting for my life all the time to even consider it. Thanks for that, too. Was really, truly the highlight of my life. Why would I fantasize about the man who murdered my parents?_

_I know that you're lying because my hand was moving on its own. It had to be your doing. _

_And about last night. I'm a young man. I'm bound to be turned on when someone does __**that.**_

_And what did you mean when you told me to say that I'm your's? Was that some freaky binding magic thing? Because that was pretty low of you if it was. Not that I'm expecting you to be valiant, or anything. _

_H._

He once again sent the bird off, feeling more angry than anxious this time. He didn't wait for the reply, instead he fell into his bed and growled. How did he get himself into these situations? He had the worst luck.

OoOoO

His reply arrived at breakfast, and luckily, the Dark Lord saw fit to send a less conspicuous owl.

_I will swear on my magic next time I see you that I did nothing more than make you realize your own fantasy. _

_As for your parents, I was manipulated by Dumbledore and you know it. He painted the targets on them, and I killed them. It is what I do. At the time, I felt I had no choice. I will not apologize, but I do regret it. I regret leaving you without them, but in my defense, you were supposed to go with them. I did what I felt needed to be done. And without that, you would have never come to me. You are my greatest asset. _

_Your hand was moving on its own, was it? Well, I had nothing to do with that. You might want to reevaluate what you think happened. _

_And no, it was not a 'freaky binding magic thing.'_

_T._

Harry sighed and stuffed the letter in his pocket. The small barn owl had flown off, as he thought it would. He wasn't going to write a reply sitting in the great hall.

He knew on a logical level that Voldemort was right about his parents, but he was still rather angry about it. Though his parents were little more than an idea in his head. He didn't remember them. But if the Dark Lord had not killed them, then he might have had a decent childhood. But then again, what more could he expect from the Dark Lord? Harry resisted the urge to glare at the Headmaster. If he hadn't created the false prophesy, then his parents would still be alive.

Hell, he might have been sitting there right now reading a letter from _them, _not Voldemort.

OoOoO

Harry was sitting in his potions class, having already completed his potion thanks to the half blood prince. Whoever that was. Harry decided that he might one day try to figure out who it was, but it was hardly a priority. Merely a curiosity.

He took a roll of parchment and a quill from his bag and began to write his response. He wasn't sure exactly what he was going to say, but he figured it would come to him. And it did.

_Talking of assets. The Slytherins_ _know that I went on the raid. It's definitely worrying. I've got Draco on damage control but I don't think that will stop them from telling their parents. Namely your followers. Just a heads up, you might wanna tell them its all bullshit. If they believe that. _

_And I will take you up on the offer to swear on your magic. I hope you know that._

_I'm not imagining it, my hand had a life of it's own._

_And it better not have been a binding thing. _

_As for my parents, I think we should discus it in person, not through letters. _

_H._

Harry planned to go to the owlery after potions had finished to send the letter. He found it odd that the Dark Lord wasn't blowing him off this time. He was being incredibly forward with his information, when usually, he held it in, even if it wasn't important.

OoOoO

On the way to the owlery, Harry kept an eye out for Malfoy. He wanted to know what the Slytherin had done to ensure his house mates kept their mouths shut.

Unfortunately, he couldn't see the blonde anywhere.

He decided to send his spare owl Lilo. He had left her in the owlery to charade as a school owl while he was at Hogwarts. Besides, he wasn't sure if Hedwig was even keyed into Voldemort's wards.

OoOoO

Harry's reply didn't come until nightfall, after he had showered and prepared for bed. Dean and Seamus were no where to be seen, and Neville was reclining on his bed in his pajamas, reading his Herbology text book. The Dark Lord had once again sent the small brown barn owl, and Harry wondered if this was his own personal owl. He liked this one much better then the eagle owl. It was less obvious.

And friendlier.

_That is worrying. I'm not prepared for my followers to know about you yet. We will see, but it may turn out that I will have to tell them. Or at least the inner circle. If this happens, I will take proper precautions to make sure they remain silent on the matter. _

_I have no issues with swearing on my magic. If I did, I would not have offered. _

_Oh, really now? And what exactly was your hand doing? _

_Like I already told you, it was not a binding 'thing.'_

_And I agree that we should discus that particular matter in person. In fact, I want you here tomorrow night, to find out what is going on with the rat, and to experiment further with your ability. I also want to look into your parseltongue, because by rights, you should no longer have it. _

_T._

Harry grimaced when Voldemort had asked him what exactly his hand was doing, and he decided that he wasn't going to answer that. There was no need for him to know. He took a seat at his desk and petted the owl, getting out his parchment and quill.

_Well I hope we get the whole mess worked out before someone gets the idea that Dumbledore should know about it. _

_And the parseltongue thing. Hellion mentioned that I must have already had it in my blood, because only a true speaker could perform the bonding ritual. So I'm pretty sure there is Slytherin in my line somewhere. Probably why the sorting hat wanted me in Slytherin. Said I would have been great there. Honestly, I think I'll be great where ever I go. Not to be cocky, or anything. _

_Alright, I'll be there tomorrow night. I'm curious about the rat. And no funny business, alright? I mean it. _

_H._


	28. I do so love challenges

_(A/N hello there again lovelies. So, there's this plot device in my head that will not leave me alone. I'm not going to tell you what it is, and you probably wont find out for a few more chapters. The thing is, I'm not sure about it. But, due to its insistence, it's going to happen. Just thought I would give you that very vague heads up. Because it is literally worth nothing and you didn't really need to know. :D) _

The Dark Lord had not given Harry a specific time to show up, so the Boy Who Lived was pacing in the common room, in front of Ginny, wondering when it would be appropriate to go.

Neville and Seamus were playing chess in the far corner, and a first year was sitting quietly, studying on the other side of the room. Neville kept shooting odd glances in Harry's direction, and it worried him. Had he heard about the raid? _I swear to god, if Malfoy's failed, I'm gonna wring his puny neck. _Harry thought, continuing his restless pacing.

Ginny had been watching him, amused, throughout his entire performance. He had even sworn under his breath a few times, drawing the attention of his fellow house mates. Luckily, they hadn't asked what was wrong.

Harry was nervous. Though he had told the Dark Lord point blank that he wasn't going to stand for any funny business, he knew that if Voldemort even gave half an effort, Harry would be all over him like a mindless spasm of goo.

So Harry's resolution to this particular problem was to make Voldemort swear on his magic that he would not pursue him further, until Harry himself decided he wanted it. If he ever did. Because he didn't know what he wanted. It was insane to even consider it. Ridiculous.

Harry paused in his pacing when Ginny let out a particularly undignified snort.

"Problem?" Harry bit out.

"No, no. no problem. Don't you think it's time that we, you know, went for a _walk_?" She was obviously referring to her visiting Eris, and him visiting the Dark Lord. She had decided a few days previous that they would disappear together.

Give each other an alibi. Of course, it was a brilliant idea, but Harry had told her that people would think they were an item. Ginny had grinned widely and told him that he should let them think whatever they wanted. Better than them knowing the reality. The Boy Who Lived had begrudgingly agreed.

Right at that second, though, he felt no need to go for a walk. In fact, he wanted to go to bed and wish that he had never opened that damn letter with the portkey. But he had to. He had made a deal. And he did still want that horcrux back. The need had diminished, only slightly, because of the amount of time he had spent with the Dark Lord himself.

There in itself was a problem. The more time he spent with Voldemort, the more he forgot the deal. The more he felt that he was in his rightful place. At his side, fighting the light, tooth and nail.

But that hadn't been what he had wanted. He wanted to be left alone. He wanted the horcrux, and to just leave. To be forgotten. Or as much as the Boy Who Lived could be forgotten.

"Harry?" Ginny prodded.

"Yeah, yeah, alright, lets go." It was another half hour until curfew, so the two weren't bothered by prefects or teachers.

Once they reached the whomping willow, Harry bid farewell to Ginny. She leaped toward the narrow passage under the trees trunk and disappeared quickly. He stood for another few minutes, staring after her, though she was long gone. He was procrastinating. Not that anyone could blame him.

He sighed and activated the portkey ring that never left his finger.

Harry stumbled into the Dark Lord's private office, catching himself on the wall before he could fall on his face.

"Potter," Voldemort greeted from behind Harry. He turned and noticed the man was standing by the door.

"The first thing we need to address is Pettigrew. Are you coming?" Voldemort was already half out the door, and Harry had not moved. He was so absolutely anxious that his feet had glued themselves to the ground.

The Dark Lord apparently had seen fit to take this meeting in his true human form, and Harry hated him for it. He must have known what he was doing to Harry, surely. He was so gorgeous when he looked like that, and it was all the strength Harry had not to jump the man.

"Is something the matter?" Tom asked, the barest of smirks on his lips.

_I'm not going to let him get to me, _Harry thought resolutely.

"No, all good. Lead the way." Harry put a lot more confidence than he felt into his words. The Dark Lord raised an eyebrow and vanished out the door.

neither of the two said anything to each other on the way down to the dungeons, and Harry was rather happy about that.

When they reached Peter, the man eyed Tom warily, before jumping to his feet with a look of sheer delight on his face when he spotted the Boy Who Lived. Harry did his best to not flinch away in disgust.

"Master, master you're here! Finally! Have you come to take me away? This scum wont let me out." Harry's eyes widened considerably before narrowing.

"'This scum?' are you fucking kidding me?" Harry spat the words with such venom that pettigrew visibly withdrew.

"He is the Dark Lord! You will have more respect!" Harry wasn't sure where the fiery anger was coming from, but he let it out anyway. He was to frustrated with everything that had been going on to possibly keep it inside.

Peter cowered once more, jerking his hands up and wiping at the tears that were flowing freely down his face.

"I'm so sorry master! I meant no disrespect! Truly! It will never happen again, I swear it." Harry scowled, openly showing his disgust.

"See that it doesn't." He took his dead ash wand from the hidden pocket of his robes and raised it square with Pettigrew's face.

"Crucio,"

in all honesty, he just needed to torture someone. And Peter was the perfect fit.

Harry held the spell a little to long, to the point where the rat passed out.

"He should be fine. But who honestly cares? Come, we have more to discus." Tom spoke for the first time from Harry's left. The Boy Who Lived had almost forgotten he was there.

"Yeah, sure." Harry replied, still looking down at the unconscious form of Pettigrew.

OoOoO

Harry sat across from the Dark Lord. The both of them had sat in silence since they entered, and Harry was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Tom had his fingers in a steeple, his elbows resting on his desk. He was watching the Chosen One curiously.

"Weren't we supposed to be talking?" Harry broke the silence, feeling awkward.

"Indeed. There are a few things. But first, there is that vow I promised you." Harry nodded jerkily, and decided it was time to bring up his idea.

"There was something else that I wanted you to vow, as well."

Tom's eyebrow's quirked, but he gestured for Harry to continue.

"I want you to vow that you wont touch me, erm, that way, unless I wish it. That you wont make any advances on me." Harry held his breath, waiting for the explosion.

When all Tom did was make a 'hmm' noise, Harry nearly choked on his spit.

"What, you don't think I can be reasonable?"

The Boy Who Lived blushed and ducked his head.

"So, you agree then? You'll do it?" Tom nodded and held his hand out for Harry to hold. He only hesitated for a second before grabbing onto the Dark Lord's hand.

Tom pulled out his wand with his right hand, and Harry did the same with his.

"I, Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, swear on my magic that I had nothing at all to do with Harry James Potter's stray hand. And I had only minimal involvement in his fantasy. I also swear that I will not touch Harry James Potter in any sexual way. Only when he says or does so himself will this vow be broken. So mote it be," Tom looked at Harry expectantly, so obviously it was his turn to say something.

"I, Harry James Potter, agree to the terms and conditions." Their joined arms glowed in confirmation, and Tom looked at him with nothing short of dismay on his face.

"You agree to the terms and conditions? Seriously?" Harry nodded sheepishly.

"It was the first thing that popped into my head, okay, give me a break."

Tom shock his head but said no more. Harry grinned widely, having successfully gotten the Dark Lord to agree to make the vow. Though it did worry him that the man obviously had nothing to do with his hand, he was glad that it was over. At least for now.

"Alright then. Moving on," The Dark Lord had his business face on, and Harry sat up and paid closer attention.

"About Pettigrew. It is obvious that there is something going on, but I am unconvinced that he is being truthful. He has always been all about self preservation. So I propose that we make him do something that he would not do unless he was truly under your control."

Harry agreed, then asked what the Dark Lord had in mind.

"We make Pettigrew kill someone dear to him."

"And who would that be? Surely no one loves that rat bastard?" Tom snorted. Though he would deny it until his dying day.

"As I recall, he is quite fond of his mother." It was Harry's turn to snort.

"I never knew he had a mother. I thought he just came out of the sewers or something."

The Dark Lord grinned.

"I would have thought so too, had I not found letters from her. Apparently, she is one of the few who know that he is still alive. If we can get her here, then we will see where his true loyalty lies."

Harry agreed, and the two decided that Harry would go the following day to Pettigrew's mothers house to collect the witch.

"On another note. About your parseltongue. There simply must be Slytherin in your line. There's no other way that you could possibly still speak it. And your snake was right, only a true, born serpent speaker can perform the ritual. So, I'll need a sample of your blood to analyze." Harry was suitably wary about giving the darkest wizard of all time a sample of his blood, but he eventually agreed.

The Dark Lord sliced the tip of Harry's finger with his wand, letting the resulting crimson liquid fall into a vial that Tom had apparently prepared earlier.

"Now then. Final topic. Wether or not you can only bring something back three times. It should be easy enough to figure out. I'll summon a rabbit now, and all you have to do is simply kill it and revive it three times. I will wait outside. Though it is tempting, I have no desire to lose my magic." Harry caught the meaning behind Tom's words. Obviously, the Dark Lord couldn't control himself when under the influence of Harry's necromantic magic. The thought almost made Harry grin.

The Dark Lord removed his wand once more, and summoned a small brown rabbit. It looked at Harry inquisitively, and Harry killed it quickly before it could do anything cute.

Tom left the room, and Harry set to work.

Sure enough, on the fourth try, the tiny animal went berserk, obviously thinking that it could take Harry on and be victorious. This time, Harry had his wand at the ready, and he disposed of it quickly.

Still, there must have been a time limit. Otherwise Ron would be alive.

The Dark Lord entered as if on Que, and Harry wondered how he knew it was over. Until he saw Nagini and Hellion slide out of a hole in the wall. He must have been watching through his familiar's eyes.

'_Hey, Hellion,_' Harry greeted, watching the Dark Lord carefully for any signs that the man was about to jump him. He appeared calm, and Harry sighed quietly in relief.

" I think that you should take your snake back with you, to keep an eye on the situation with the Slytherins." Harry nodded, agreeing whole heartedly.

"There are tunnels all through the Slytherin dormitory. Perfect for snakes. Keep me updated on the situation."

Harry sensed the dismissal, and knelled so Hellion could climb onto his shoulders.

"Oh, and Potter?" Harry looked up.

"About that vow. I do so love challenges." Tom actually licked his lips then, and the Chosen One's stomach dropped.

Harry was incredibly grateful for the portkey's unmistakable pull.


	29. Boy who always did what he was told

It was just before lunch, and Harry was about to leave Hogwarts to collect Pettigrew's mother. He planned on simply excusing himself to go to the toilet and using the time turner to get back.

The school had become more relaxed now. It was no longer mandatory to be with two other people at all times. No one had heard from Hermione, or had any clue where she had gone. Harry had to fight a smirk every time someone brought up the mystery. Harry knew that the headmaster was looking for a way to give up searching, without looking heartless.

_Let him struggle. _The Boy Who Lived grinned.

"Hey, Gin, I'm gonna go use the loo," He gave her a pointed look, and she nodded. She knew where he was going, and he had only told her for the sake of those who might be listening.

He slipped into the bathroom, scanned the room for anyone that could be in there, and activated the portkey.

As soon as Harry steadied himself and he took in his surroundings, his jaw just about hit the floor.

Standing before him, in nothing but a towel, slightly damp and looking completely, insanely beautiful, was the Dark Lord.

"Oh, is it that time already?" Tom ran a hand through his wet hair, smirking.

"Oh, Jesus. Would you- would you put some clothes on?" Harry wasn't looking the Dark Lord's face, rather, he was watching a droplet of water trail its way down Tom's chest, eventually vanishing into the towel.

Harry knew that Tom hadn't forgotten what time their meeting was supposed to be. He was doing this to mess with Harry. To weaken his resolve. And Harry had to admit that he wasn't doing to bad a job of it.

The Boy Who Lived scalded himself when he realized that the Dark Lord had done nothing but take his shirt of. Granted, the way the droplets of water made his skin look delicious didn't help him any.

_Stop it! _Harry tore his eyes away and instead chose to look at Nagini, who was lazing on Tom's chair.

"Sure," The Dark Lord said slowly. Harry's gaze landed back on the man as he spoke.

"Let me just go do that," As Tom walked away, Harry noticed that he had a sway to his hips that was surely just for the Chosen One. Harry actually let out a whimper, and Tom stopped and half turned his body to face him.

He raised his eyebrow at Harry, and once again, the Boy Who Lived looked away. When he did look back, the Dark Lord was gone. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and once again turned to Nagini.

'_Your master is going to be the death of me,' _The snake raised its head and seemed to chuckle.

'_I had thought it was the other way around.' _Before Harry could reply to that cryptic statement, the Dark Lord reappeared in the doorway.

Harry had half expected him to return dressed in bondage gear, and was thankful that he hadn't. That would have been much to far over the top for Harry's liking. He was wearing his usual dress robes, and his hair was still damp. Harry gulped and fidgeted near the desk and waited for Tom to say something.

"You will have to disillusion yourself, she knows who you are. I think it would be best if you tried to gain her trust before you take her. Trying to kidnap someone who is afraid or wary is much harder to accomplish."

Harry snorted.

"You would know." He muttered.

"Well, yes, it's my job to know these things."

"I'm sure. Anyway, anything I should know? Any easy way to gain her trust?"

Tom shrugged. "I've never met her, personally. But if she's anything like her progeny, she will be greedy and selfish."

"Okay, well, where does she live?" Harry asked.

"In hogsmeade. Just look for the least attractive house in the town."

"Seriously? Pettigrew's mum lives in Hogsmeade?" Tom raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. Why is that strange?"

Harry shrugged.

"I don't know. Just that she's so close to Hogwarts? I feel like I should have known that."

"And what would you have done about that?" Tom asked.

"Before? Nothing, probably."

"And now?" Harry paused at the question, not because he didn't know the answer, he did. He just wasn't sure about how he felt about his answer. He'd changed so much in such a short span of time, and he felt like he should feel remorse, or something.

He didn't.

"I'd make Pettigrew kill her."

Tom nodded, smirking.

"Well lets get too it, shall we?"

OoOoO

Harry stood, glamoured to look like a man in his mid thirties with sandy blonde hair and a friendly smile, in front of the most awful house he had ever seen in his life.

The roof of the small building sagged inward, the front lawn was hugely overgrown, with what looked to be a large infestation of gnomes. The paint peeled of in large clumps, mostly around the door. The paint seemed to have been white once, but now it was a color that he could only describe as smokers teeth yellow.

Harry hid his grimace as he approached the door, scaring a mangy cat from the step as he went. He knocked on the door, and it made a hideous noise, as though it were about to crumble. Harry rubbed his hand vigorously on his robes, hoping to rid himself of the germs.

When the woman answered the door, Harry nearly chocked on the stench that came from within. It smelt mostly of cat, and all the things that came out of a cat. Harry didn't miss the irony. Pettigrew's mother was a cat lady. He nearly snorted at the thought of a teenage Peter growing up with an army of cats.

She eyed Harry suspiciously, and he grinned widely, hoping to make her feel more comfortable.

The woman herself matched the house, if that were possible. The clothes she wore were torn in places, and her hair was wild and unbrushed. She stank like holy hell. Harry almost laughed himself right of the step when he realized that her teeth almost exactly matched the paint.

He managed to compose himself.

"Hello there, my name is Harry Evans. I was just at the Hogshead, and I found this." Harry held out his hand, and in his palm sat a great fat diamond broach.

He and Tom decided that they would appeal to her greed. The broach itself was of course a portkey.

"I asked the barmaid, and she said that she had seen it with you. I thought I would return it. It looks mighty expensive. Is that a real diamond?" The woman's expression went from wary to greedy in seconds.

"But of course! Only the best fer me!" Her words were strange to Harry's ears. The way she combined crude language with sophisticated language grated on his ears. Her voice itself reminded him eerily of Hagrid.

She yanked the broach out of Harry's hand and examined it with glee. Harry smirked. _Stupid woman. _He thought, as he grabbed her arm.

"'ey! What yer doin' yer worthless swine!" Harry grimaced and activated the portkey.

They both landed in Voldemort's study, Harry using the disgusting woman to stop him from landing on his face. She was swearing and flailing her arms, and Harry raised his eyebrows and stood back, narrowly avoiding being hit in the face.

She hadn't yet noticed the Dark Lord, who was sitting calmly at his desk, looking all intimidating in his Voldemort form.

"Yer have no right ter do this te me! I am a lady of importance! I-" Her rant was cut short when she noticed who was sitting across from her.

She let out a pathetic whimper and dropped to her knees.

"Constance Pettigrew. It's nice to finally meet you. I believe that your son is waiting to see you downstairs."

"My- my son? I haven' seen 'im in such a long time,"

Voldemort stood and beckoned for her to stand.

" I do apologize for the abduction, but it seemed necessary."

She nodded her head profusely.

"It's no trouble, me Lord, I was jus' stunned is all."

The Dark Lord said nothing as he walked out of the door. Constance followed him, and Harry was close behind her. He knew that once she saw the state of her son, she would likely try to escape. Or fight back, but that was less likely.

The lower they got into the manor, the warier Constance became. She must have sensed that something was wrong, but was to cowardly to try and leave. Yet, at least.

When she did lay eyes on her son, however, she instantly turned around and made to run away. Only to run square into Harry's chest.

"Ew, get off me you disgusting lump of stink," She panicked and tried to get around him, only to have her arm twisted almost out of its socket.

"Where do you think you're going? Don't you want to see your son?" Harry spat, twisting her arm further, making her whimper.

"Has she got a wand on her?" Harry asked over his shoulder. Voldemort came forward and raised his own wand, waving it over the witch. Pettigrew had long ago heard the commotion, but from his vantage point, he had not yet seen his mother.

"No, she doesn't." The Dark Lord put his wand back into his robe pocket, and went to the cell door.

"Pettigrew, stand back," Harry said as he shoved the woman forward towards Peter. Harry decided that he would need a shower after this. Constance was rubbing off on him as she tried to escape.

"Only my master can tell me what to do! You let my mother go!"

Harry had completely forgotten about the glamour. He didn't look like himself, so the rat wasn't about to obey him.

"Oh, for the love of- My Lord, could you remove the glamour?" He had decided a while back that he would treat the Dark Lord with respect around his followers. Especially Pettigrew.

"Of course," Harry heard Voldemort come up behind him, and he wondered why. There was no need for close proximity to remove a glamour.

Harry got his answer when he felt the Dark Lord's wand trail down his neck. He was so startled that he nearly let the struggling woman go.

"That isn't necessary and is hardly appropriate right now," Harry bit out.

"Don't forget about the vow." He added in warning.

"I'm not forgetting about the vow. I'm not touching you. My wand is."

Harry bit his lip as he realized that particular loop hole. _Damn it, _he thought to himself as he felt the glamour slip.

"Now, Peter, stand back." And he did, instantly.

"Oh, I'm sorry master, I didn't realize it was you! Wouldn't want to obey the wrong orders!" Pettigrew laughed nervously.

Voldemort opened the door, and Harry threw the disgusting woman in. She turned to face them, probably about to yell some more, when she stopped in her tracks.

"You! Yer Harry Potter! Yer the reason me son is on the run!" She appeared to have forgotten she was no in a cage with no obvious escape.

"And now 'e's callin' yer 'master'!" She seemed to be speaking more to herself, before she turned to her son.

"Wha's goin' on here?" Peter flinched away from his mother's almost ineligible shouting.

Harry was content to just watch. Apparently, so was Voldemort.

Peter didn't answer his mother, instead, he turned to Harry.

"Why is she here? Did she do something wrong? If she did I'm sure she didn't mean too. She means well." Harry crossed his arms across his chest.

"That's not why she's here." A smirk found its way onto Harry's face, and once there, it only grew larger.

"Then- well, why is she here?" Fear finally crossed Peter's face, and Harry smirked wider. He didn't answer for a moment, instead choosing to fiddle with a piece of loose string on his robe. He wondered idly if that was even normal. Weren't wizard clothes supposed to never decay?

"Well, she's here because I want you to kill her." Harry looked up as he spoke, reveling in the fear and confusion on the rats face.

"But, master, she's my mother! Surely there is something else you want?" Harry shook his head.

"There is no room for argument. You kill her or I do. And trust me, it wont be pretty if I have to step in there."

Peter's face fell, and Constance seemed to be getting more enraged by the minute.

"How DARE yer try te get-" She was cut off by the Dark Lord's silencio, but her mouth continued to move and her finger waved about accusingly.

Peter looked positively dejected.

"But, master, I don't have a wand." Harry laughed.

"Well, you'll just have to strangle her, wont you, wormtail?"

Pettigrew bit back a sob, but nodded.

"Yes, master."

"Petrificus Totalus," Harry muttered, his wand pointed at Constance. Her mouth finally stopped moving and she fell over backwards, stiff as a board.

Peter came to kneel beside his mother, and put his hands around her throat, sobbing.

"This is for my parents, you _son of a bitch,"_ His anger made his mouth form words in parseltongue, not English.

Harry watched with grim satisfaction as he strangled the life out of his own mother.

OoOoO

"I feel like I need a shower." Harry proclaimed, as the two ascended the stairs. He rubbed his hands on his robes. He could still smell the stink.

"You may have one here." Harry grimaced. No, he wasn't going to have one in the Dark Lord's home.

"I'll just have one when I get back to Hogwarts." He muttered.

"You can't go to the bathroom and come back smelling like unwashed cat lady. Your friends would know something was amiss." Harry groaned. He had almost forgotten that to everyone else at school, he was merely using the toilet.

"Well, can't you just cast a non stink spell or something?"

Voldemort smirked.

"Uncomfortable, Potter?" Harry blushed and ducked his head. No matter how hard he tried to be confidant in the Dark Lord's presence, to be flippant or sarcastic, the man knew exactly how to turn him into a shy little school girl. And he hated it.

"No. No, I'm fine, perfectly peachy, actually. I just don't bloody feel like having a shower here."

The Dark Lord let a small laugh escape.

"Suit yourself. Scorgify." Voldemort had his wand pointed at Harry, and he hadn't even noticed. _Gods, he is quick. _Harry thought, though he didn't show how impressed he was.

He felt much cleaner after the Scorgify, but he still didn't feel like the cat lady stink was quite gone. He would deal with it when he got back to Hogwarts. Hopefully no one noticed the smell.

"I'm going, I'll see you whenever." Harry said, preparing to activate the portkey.

"Tomorrow night." The Dark Lord said.

"Why?" Harry paused. There wasn't much else to discus.

"Because that is what I am requesting of you. Don't forget your place." The Dark Lord warned.

"Alright, alright, don't get pissy, I'll be here. Any particular time?"

"As soon as you can get away." Voldemort answered.

"Okay. I'll be here." The Boy Who Lived once again prepared to leave. And once again, he was stopped.

"Harry,"

The Chosen one's eyes shot up at the use of his first name.

"For whatever it is worth. I am sorry about your parents." Harry blinked three times before he could open his mouth to respond.

"I thought you weren't going to apologize?" Harry asked, his voice soft.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Potter. Now go on, you've had an incredibly long bathroom break."

(_A/N bawww aren't they so sweet? In an awful, awful way, of course. Love you guys :D) _


	30. Just relaxed and naked

Ginny had been the only one to get close enough to recognize the cat lady smell.

"Harry, what is that stink?" Ginny pinched her nose.

"Did you know that Peter Pettigrew's mother was a cat lady? I wonder who will feed her cats now." Harry smirked.

"You didn't, did you?" The red head whispered.

"Didn't what?" Harry asked innocently, though he knew what she was talking about.

"You know," She made a show of pretending to slit her throat with her finger.

"Oh, heavens no, Ginny dear." Harry smirked.

"Well-"

"I made Pettigrew do it." He interrupted before she could continue.

"Harry! That's just awful!" She scalded. Harry just shrugged.

"He had it coming, Gin. Besides, it's more complicated then that. I didn't do it simply for revenge. Though, it was definitely satisfying."

"Harry! You're the devil in a Sunday hat. Truly." The Boy Who Lived snorted.

"More sayings from your father?"

Ginny smiled and nodded, and apparently all was forgiven.

OoOoO

Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had been asked to stay back after transfiguration, and obviously, Harry was about to be told about an upcoming meeting he was going to have with Dumbledore. It was the only reason McGonagall ever kept him behind after class.

"Mister Potter," His teacher greeted him formally. Truth be told, he had always like her. It was a shame she was on the wrong team.

"Yes, Professor?"

"The Headmaster has asked me to inform you that he would like to see you tonight, at eight."

Harry nodded stiffly, fighting the scowl trying to form on his face.

"Yes Professor. Was there anything else?" She eyed him carefully, and Harry straightened his back, trying to keep his face expressionless.

"That will be all, mister Potter."

OoOoO

Harry stood outside the Headmasters office, having realized that he didn't get the password from his transfiguration professor.

"Damn," He muttered, not aware of the presence behind him.

"Do you have a problem, Potter?" Snape's drawl made Harry spin around.

"Don't know the password. Why else would I be standing here cussing?" Harry said curtly.

"Watch your tongue. You should have more respect."

"Yeah, yeah. What's the password?"

" It's Candy Canes, you impudent brat." Snape growled.

"Figures." Harry muttered.

"Should have just stood here and spouted every candy name I know. I would have eventually got it."

"Of course you would have." Everything the potions professor said sounded like an insult.

"Yes, and I'm the dumbest person you know," Harry winked at the greasy man.

"Is there a reason you're here?" He added.

"So disrespectful, just like your father. I am here to give the Headmaster a potion."

"Oh, well then by all means, lead the way, Professor." Harry gave a mock bow, gesturing for Snape to go ahead.

Snape scowled as he spoke the password.

Harry stepped up behind the man, waiting as the stairs took them up to the door. Once Snape had entered, Harry walked into the room and sat down in front of the Headmaster. He waited for the potions professor to hand the potion to Dumbledore, and for Dumbledore to thank him. Snape then took his leave, and the Headmaster focused his attention on Harry.

"So, Headmaster. Professor McGonagall told me that you- holy balls what happened to your hand!"

Dumbledore's arm looked shriveled and, well, dead, was the only way to describe it.

"That is a story for another time, Harry." The Headmaster looked slightly offended.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything, it's just that it kind of shocked me."

"No harm done, my boy. What I brought you here to talk about, in fact, were some extra curricular lessons. To help you in your fight against Voldemort."

Harry fought the frown that threatened.

"What kind of lessons?" Harry tried to play the part of an over eager martyr. That was when he noticed the strange ring on the Headmasters finger. It was on the same hand that was decaying. _If he was going to wear a ring, wouldn't he wear it on the other hand? _Harry wondered. _maybe that's the thing that caused it. _

"You will see when the time comes. But for now, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. Your lessons will begin Friday next, at eight. I'm afraid that I will be unavailable until then." Harry sensed the dismissal and stood to leave.

"Thank you sir."

"That's quite alright my boy. You should get to your dormitory. Curfew is in a half hour." Harry nodded and all but ran down the stairs.

What was that ring? And what lessons did the Headmaster plan to give him? Harry frowned and decided that he would have to bring it up with Voldemort. If anyone would know, it would be him.

OoOoO

Harry sat across from an angry and slightly tipsy Dark Lord. He had told Voldemort what he had seen, and the man had cursed, then conjured a bottle of fire whiskey.

"It's fine though. He'll be dead soon. And obviously, he expects that you will hunt down the remaining Horcruxes and all will be well." The Dark Lord laughed humorlessly and swirled his drink.

"He'll be dead soon?" Harry parroted.

"Yes, the curse I put on the ring horcrux is deadly. And there is no cure."

"Wow, that's kind of anticlimactic."

The Dark Lord raised an eyebrow and took another swig.

"I mean, I always kind of thought that he would go down fighting. It's just kinda, I don't know. Lame? Boring?"

Tom ran a hand through his hair. It was obvious now that he planned to always appear this way around Harry.

"Maybe he will."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Well, maybe he will die in battle. Maybe you'll kill him." Harry did nothing but raise his eyebrows.

"He has definitely worn out his welcome. And now that he is after my horcruxes, I give you full permission to kill the bastard."

"Are you serious right now or are you just tipsy?" Harry tried to fight the excitement bubbling in his chest. He didn't want to be disappointed if Tom suddenly decided against it.

"I am serious. But I must advise you to use utmost caution. Make sure no portraits see you. And absolutely do not use your holly wand. And take _no _chances. Don't ramble on about how fantastic you are."

Harry snorted.

"You would know that one first hand, wouldn't you?"

The Dark Lord glared, but said nothing. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Harry had the time to realize how dark the room was. Only two large candles were lit at the far side of the room, leaving the other half of the room in pitch blackness.

Harry and Tom, thankfully, were on the lighter side of the room. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if the two of them had been in the dark together, vow or no vow.

The Boy Who Lived watched as the candle light flickered in Tom's hair, making it look gold. Harry wondered if his looked the same.

"Where are my manners," The Dark Lord said suddenly, startling Harry out of his thoughts.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Would you like a drink?" Tom asked, pulling a glass seemingly out of no where.

"Oh, no thanks."

The Dark Lord poured him one anyway, and slid it across the table with a flick of his wrist. Harry had to catch it if he didn't want to have fire whiskey all over himself.

As soon as his hand touched the glass, he had a huge urge to drink it. It had to have a compulsion charm on it. Harry scowled as he brought the glass to his lips, and he downed it in one go. Then he slid the glass back at the Dark Lord, straight away wanting another.

"You're an asshole. Trying to get me drunk? Classic." Harry grumbled. He could have just gotten up and left, but he really didn't feel the need. He wasn't sure If that was part of the compulsion, or if it was just his own will holding him in his seat.

"Not drunk. Just relaxed and naked."

Harry's cheeks went flaming red, and he was glad for the low lighting. Tom slid another drink in his direction, and the Boy Who Lived had more trouble downing this one, he wasn't an experienced drinker, after all. But he still managed to down it in one go, coughing slightly afterward.

"You're out of your mind," Harry mumbled.

"I think it comes with the job."

Harry laughed and slid the glass back, silently asking for another.

"You're eager, aren't you?" Tom smirked and leaned back in his seat, having pushed Harry's now once again full glass back.

"That would be your doing,"

"I only put the compulsion on the first glass. And honestly, it was only very slight. I wasn't sure you would even be affected. Seeing as you are so adamant against spending time with me."

The Boy Who Lived laughed again, with less humor.

"You are such a liar." Harry scowled, taking a sip of his drink and shivering at the strength of the alcohol.

"Take it how you want it. I'm simply telling the truth. When else have I lied?"

Harry opened his mouth to tell him _exactly _when he had lied, but had to snap it shut again.

_When had he lied? _Harry wondered. Harry could only think of one time. And at that time, Harry had been Voldemort's mortal enemy. Only lying to your own mortal enemy _once, _was pretty impressive. The only time the Dark Lord had lied to Harry Potter, had been the night his godfather died.

Tom watched in amusement, and Harry glared at him.

"You did lie once, don't get all cocky." Harry took another gulp of his drink.

"Oh, that's right, I did. But I was getting desperate. I usually make it a rule not to lie."

Tom rested his head on his hands and leaned forward, watching Harry intently.

Said man-child wondered, for a stupid second, if there was something on his face.

"What?" His checks felt hot, and he wasn't sure if it was because of the scrutiny, or the alcohol.

"Just wondering how long it will take for you to start taking your clothes off."

Harry laughed loudly.

"You're really rude, did you know that?" The Chosen One continued to snort in amusement, and the Dark Lord smirked at him.

"Yes, I know. But it tends to only be you who brings it out in me." The candles flickered and they were plunged into almost darkness for a second.

"Oh, eerie," Harry mumbled as he took another deep drink of his whiskey. He then practically threw the glass at the Dark Lord, forcing the man to nearly fall out of his chair in an attempt to catch it.

"A little warning would have been nice," Tom scolded.

"Sorry," Harry let out a high pitched giggle.

"Would you like another?" Tom asked sweetly, and Harry wondered why he didn't drink more often.

"Of course, good sir," Harry bowed low, and very nearly slammed his head into the desk. The Dark Lord sniggered, and this time, he passed the boy his drink. Lest he be unable to catch it before it slid off the desk.

"Why thank you," Harry mumbled, taking a sip and spilling some down his front. Tom then took a sip of his drink. He was being careful. He wasn't about to get wasted and put his hands all over the delicious little thing sitting in front of him. He would lose his magic. But if Harry himself initiated it, well, that was a different matter altogether.

"You're very welcome."

Harry then abruptly stood up and removed his outer robe. Tom's eye's widened.

"Don't get your hopes up, I spilt some." Harry noticed that it was getting harder to talk, and that once he had stood up, his head had started to swim delightfully. He collapsed back into his seat and sighed.

His eyes were once again caught in Tom's hair, and he was fascinated with the way the candle light seemed to make it glow. He wanted to reach out and touch it, and he was going to, until he remembered the vow. _Must not touch beautiful man,_ he told himself.

Harry watched as the Dark Lord brought his glass to his mouth, and the golden liquid twinkled in the light.

He brought his glass to his mouth, mimicking Tom.

OoOoO

Two drinks later, and Harry was laughing at just about everything. The Dark Lord had only finished his second drink, and was incredibly amused by the younger mans antics.

At this point, Harry decided that it would be a fantastic idea to mess with Tom. Just like he had messed with Harry.

He stood and wobbled slightly, keeping his hand on the desk to steady himself as he drew closer to the Dark Lord.

When he stood directly in front of Tom, he bent over so that they were face to face. Barely centimeters from touching. Of course, neither was going to make contact. Harry smirked and licked his lips slowly, and to his surprise, the Dark Lord stood. The Boy Who Lived took a step back, and he frowned when Tom took a step forward.

Harry continued to back away, and Tom continued to advance. Neither made an attempt to touch the other, but Harry wondered if the man was actually going to break the vow. Or if he himself was going to.

The Boy Who Lived found that he could go no further when his back slammed into the far wall. _The dark side of the room, _Harry realized. He could barely see a thing, only the glint of Tom's eyes and the pale white of his skin.

He sucked in a breath when the Dark Lord drew close enough for Harry to smell him. _Cinnamon and pine, _Harry's brain supplied helpfully. the Dark Lord's robes were touching the bare skin of his arms, and that alone made him want to whimper.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to break the vow." Tom whispered, somehow making the words sound hotter than anything he had ever heard.

"But I wish you would," Toms arms now rested on either side of Harry's head, and his face was so close that if he moved a fraction, their lips would have touched. Harry let out a shaky breath, and then he smiled.

"It's not going to be that easy," Harry whispered back. And he might have been imagining it, but he swore he saw Tom shiver as his breath ghosted the mans face.

"Mm. I was truly hoping you would say that." Tom leaned in close to Harry's ear, so close that his hair tickled his cheek.

'_but I will have you,' _It took all of Harry's willpower as the hiss tickled his ear. He wanted to grab the man by the face and snog him until he couldn't see straight.

'_Maybe, maybe not.' _Harry hissed as Tom took a small step back.

The Boy Who Lived activated the portkey with a smirk on his lips.

_(A/N wow, you guys, chapter thirty. Won't be long now and this will be finished. But don't worry, there will likely be a sequel.)_


	31. Lead me not into temptation

_(A/N you guys make me all warm and fuzzy. Reviews are a lot like birthday presents, I think. You go into your email, you see it, and you're, oh, yay! Review! And then while you wait for it to load, it's like unwrapping it. Ha, cause I'm weird. Anyway, kshadow sent me this review, __**Hey I was wondering if you could make one shots of other people's point of view through out the story. Like Hermione's point of view when Harry is torturing her, or Voldemort during the scene in chapter 25, or Ron's thoughts when he is being back to life.**_ _And I love love love that idea. So it will likely happen. Maybe not straight away, but it will. :D)_

'_Master,' _Harry heard Hellion's voice while walking towards the great hall.

'_What's up?' _Harry asked. He heard the desperation in the snakes voices, which made him nervous.

'_There are people up ahead, talking about you and your small friend,' _Harry could only assume he meant Ginny.

The Boy Who Lived crept up slowly to the corner, and heard voices. One seemed frantic and rushed, the other two seemed to completely ignore the warnings that they were clearly being given. Harry came as close as he possibly could without being seen, and pressed his back against the wall

"I told you that you shouldn't talk about this, it's _dangerous, _I'm not kidding." This voice was obviously Malfoy's.

"So, it did happen then?" Harry recognized Blaise Zabini's voice.

"I told you to stop talking about it! Honestly," Malfoy warned again.

"I can take that as a yes." A female voice that Harry didn't know said.

"Can you believe that, Blaise? The Golden Boy and the Weasley girl, working for the Dark Lord?" Harry stiffened. Anyone could have been listening. Obviously, Malfoy was having a hard time controlling his fellow Slytherins, and Harry would have to take it into his own hands if this continued.

"_Georgia,_" Malfoy scolded.

"What? I thought he wanted him dead, why would the Dark Lord want _him _on his side? How stupid is that? I think he's gotten weak."

"You shouldn't say things like that. He is our lord." Blaise said, haughtiness obvious in his voice.

"What would you do if Potter heard you talking like that?" Malfoy asked, obviously trying a different tactic to scare the girl into silence.

"I would probably spit in his face. How dare he think he can just switch sides like that? He probably realized that he was going to die and chickened out." Anger burned in Harry's chest, and he decided instantly that he was going to end this himself. He stepped around the corner and strolled toward the girl.

"Spit in my face would you?" The girl, Georgia, had had her back to Harry. Both Blaise and Malfoy's eyes had widened when they saw him. She spun to face him, and her mouth fell open.

She recovered quickly, though, and straightened her back proudly.

"You're not worthy of the Dark Lord." She spat. Harry examined his fingernails.

"Oh? I think he would disagree with you there." He smirked at Georgia, and she almost growled at him. Blaise's eyes had lit up at the almost admission to working with the Dark Lord.

"How would you know what he thinks? You would be nothing more than a boot licker to him. Scum beneath his feet."

Harry laughed uproariously, bending over and slapping his knee. All three Slytherin's eyes widened. Harry composed himself, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Ah, if only," Harry said, looking of into the distance.

"What do you mean if onl-" Harry cut her off.

"Malfoy, I asked you take care of this. I spoke to Voldemort about it. He's angry. If anyone, _anyone,_ find's out about this," Harry ran his finger across his neck and made a noise similar to choking.

Malfoy's mouth fell open, and he fidgeted.

"I'm trying, Potter, really, do I look like I want to die?" The blonde whispered frantically. Harry sighed.

"Look, I have a better idea. Get every Slytherin you can get in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the barmy on the seventh floor, Tomorrow night, at Seven."

Malfoy nodded enthusiastically.

"What are you planning on doing?" Blaise asked.

The Boy Who Lived eyed him, before saying,

"you'll see." He then stalked off.

OoOoO

_I've arranged a meeting with the Slytherin's tomorrow. It's getting out of control, Malfoy can't handle it. At this rate, the whole school will know by the end of next week. _

_H._

Harry tied the letter to Lilo's leg, and sent her out the window. He hoped that he would get a reply soon, because, truly, he had no idea what to do.

He was excellent at rallying Gryffindors, but Slytherins were a whole different ball game. You had to earn their respect, and every single one of them hated him. This wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

OoOoO

His reply came at dinner, the eagle owl swooping in and dropping the reply into Harry's dinner. Somehow doing so gracefully. It then let out a loud screech that drew everyone's eyes to Harry. The Boy Who Lived's eyes near came out of his head in shock. What was the Dark Lord doing? Drawing attention like that? Harry opened the letter quickly, scowling.

_You'll need to assert yourself. Look over at the Slytherins and smirk at them._

Harry looked up, and most of the Slytherins had their eyes on him, some looked completely shocked, obviously recognizing the owl. Harry gave them all a barely visible smirk, and winked. If they weren't shocked before, they were now.

_I sent that bird, because they know were it comes from. And they know who uses it. Also, for your protection, I put a glamour on it so that only those in Slytherin could see what the owl truly looks like. This letter will also look like nothing but a book order conformation to anyone else. _

_I was thinking. The snakes will likely not listen to a word you say. _

_But if someone that they feared were there, they would fall into line easily. _

_So I'll see you tomorrow night. Use the portkey an hour before the meeting, and I will come back with you. _

_T._

Harry chocked on the pumpkin juice he had just taken a sip of. The Dark Lord was coming to Hogwarts? That was insane! Way to risky. Harry stood abruptly, and all but ran out of the hall. The entire Slytherin table was watching him warily.

_Have you completely lost your mind? There are wards here, remember! There must be some other way to push them into line. _

_H._

Harry tied the letter to Lilo and all but threw the small bird out of the window.

OoOoO

He was still in the owlery, waiting for a reply and talking to Hedwig, when Malfoy and Blaise walked in.

"What was that? During dinner?" Malfoy asked without preamble.

"What was what?" Harry grinned.

"You know what! That was my fathers owl! Everyone knows that. And everyone knows that the only one who uses that nasty ass bird is the Dark Lord!"

Harry waved his arms frantically and then smacked the blonde in the arm.

"Do you want someone to hear you?" He hissed.

"The bird was glamoured. Only me and you Slytherin lot could see what it looked like." Harry added.

"So it was him then?" Blaise asked, almost reverently.

"Yeah, yeah it was him." Harry confirmed. Hopefully, Blaise would tell every Slytherin he came across that Harry was on good terms with the Dark Lord. It might stop them from talking. Or at least convince them to go to the meeting.

As if on que, the Eagle owl swooped in and landed on Harry's shoulder, and Harry tentatively removed the letter from its leg. To his shock, the bird nipped at him affectionately.

"That bird hates everyone but the Dark Lord." Malfoy said suspiciously.

"Well apparently it likes me now." Harry stated, cautiously petting the birds neck. It cooed appreciatively, and took off back out of the window. The Boy Who Lived opened the letter, ignoring the two Slytherins who were eying him curiously.

_The wards are useless. They only detect dark magic, not particular people. I was there your first year, remember? And even then, they only detect dark magic in certain rooms. The chamber and the room of requirement are rooms I know for a fact aren't warded. _

_Sadly, this is probably the only way to gain their respect. And ensure their silence. As it is, there are probably people who have been told about your allegiance who aren't in Slytherin. They may not believe it, but if Dumbledore hears about it, he has reason to believe it to be true. The real prophesy states that you may join me. _

_All the more reason to make sure he dies. I believe that he is the only one besides you and I that know the real prophesy._

_I will see you tomorrow. _

_T._

Harry almost laughed. He was so damn excited about ending Dumbledore. And being told to do it even sooner was absolutely fantastic.

"What does it say?" Harry looked up at the blonde, having forgotten that he was even there.

"Oh, it says, none of your business." Malfoy scowled.

"Fine, don't tell us." the two Slytherin's turned to leave.

"Oh, Malfoy, make sure you get as many Slytherins as possible. It looks like we'll be having a special guest."

OoOoO

Harry sat on his bed with the curtains drawn, preparing to collect the Dark Lord. He had his invisibility cloak sitting in front of him, for Voldemort to use. He was nervous. Even though Voldemort said that the wards would not detect him, his nerves were still bunched up and he was preparing for a fight.

There was also the nerves that came from the memory of the last time he saw the Dark Lord.

When he had arrived back at Hogwarts after what had happened, he had been absolutely mortified with himself. He had been stunningly close to breaking the vow so many times he nearly lost count.

But _oh, _how he wanted Tom. So badly it made his bones ache. But he was the _Dark Lord_, he was evil. Incapable of love or mercy. Harry was no saint himself, but he was hardly about to throw himself at Voldemort. The man would destroy him. Like he destroyed everything else.

Harry sighed and activated the portkey. There was no point sitting there mopping. He had a cleanup to get too.

OoOoO

"So, this is your bed?" Tom asked cheekily.

"Yup. Now put the cloak on. We have to go."

Tom picked up the cloak and examined the material.

"Interesting, where did you get this?" He asked.

"It was my fathers. Now come on, we have to go." Harry wanted to be moving, not sitting cross legged on the bed.

He grabbed the Marauders map as an after thought, because he wasn't sure if Dumbledore could see through the cloak or not. He scanned it for a second, and realized that the headmaster wasn't even in the school. _Perfect._

He then scanned the seventh floor, and found that a large number of people were standing in front of the room of requirement. He checked the Slytherin dorm, and only two people were in it.

"What's that?" Tom asked curiously.

"It's a map of the school. It shows you where everyone is. Turns out Dumbles isn't here and all but two of the Slytherins are waiting for us. Or, waiting for me, anyway." The Dark Lord yanked the map out of Harry's hands and scanned it himself.

"Your fathers?" Harry nodded.

"How did you know?" He asked, standing up.

"It has wormtail's name on it. I know he and your father were friends here." Tom stood as well, draping the cloak over himself and disappearing.

"Right, yeah, that would explain it. lets go,"

OoOoO

Harry stood in front of roughly one hundred Slytherin students. They were inside the room of requirement, which had become a large empty room to accommodate them all. He had specified to the room that no one could leave without his or Voldemort's say so.

Almost all of the Slytherins looked curious, though some looked flat out angry. Harry cringed inwardly, but didn't show how awkward he felt. He knew that the snakes would destroy him if he let any weakness show.

He cast a sonorous on himself, so everyone in the room could hear him.

"I'm sure you've all heard by now that I supposedly went on a raid with Voldemort." A few of them flinched at the name, but almost all of them started talking in hushed whispers.

"It's true." Harry interrupted. He felt the Dark Lord's presence come up close behind him, and he felt the mans breath on his neck. The Boy Who Lived shivered visibly, and he fought the urge to smack the Dark Lord in the face.

"Bullshit! As if the Dark Lord would take scum like you!" One of the seventh years in the front shouted, and an uproar of agreement met his words.

Malfoy was not far from said seventh year, and was looking around anxiously, trying to quiet his fellow classmates. Harry hadn't told him in so many words that the Dark Lord would be present, but the blonde was smart enough to figure it out for himself. He knew Voldemort was there.

'_Crucio him for his insolence.' _The parseltongue hiss was insanely close to his ear, and Harry nearly jumped. Harry drew his dead ash wand, nodding slightly in agreement.

"Crucio," Harry said calmly.

Everyone fell silent, watching him with wide eyes. Even Malfoy's eyes were bugging out of his head. Harry silenced the screaming teen, and continued speaking.

"I'm here to tell you to _shut your mouths,_" Harry snarled.

"The Dark Lord does not _appreciate_ your teenage gossiping." He released the curse on the seventh year, but not the silencing spell.

"Potter," Malfoy said nervously.

"Hmm?" Harry focused his attention on the blonde, and he had a fairly good idea what he was going to say.

"Didn't- didn't you say that, you know, we'd have a guest?" Malfoy was wringing his hands. Harry didn't think he'd ever seen the Slytherin look so absolutely terrified. The Boy Who Lived smirked.

"Oh, yeah. It completely slipped my mind." Malfoy relaxed at the words, obviously thinking that meant the Dark Lord wasn't there.

"He is here." Harry clarified. The blonde actually went green in the face. Georgia, who was next to him, whispered in his ear, and he whispered back. The girl looked shocked for all of a second, before she turned to Harry and smirked. Harry smirked right back, daring her to say something.

"Nice one, Potter, you almost had me for a second. This is such utter crap. I have no idea what you're playing at, but there's no way the Dark Lord would want you." Harry smiled kindly and gestured for her to continue. He could practically feel Voldemort bristling with anger at his side.

"You're light side scum. Worth nothing!" Harry grinned hugely, because he knew it would only be seconds before the Dark Lord revealed himself.

"You're-"

Harry heard the sound of fabric being yanked off forcefully, and he crossed his arms and grinned wider, if that was even possible.

"Crucio!" The Dard Lord just about roared from beside him, and Harry ducked his head and laughed as Georgia screamed agonizingly from the floor.

A few people actually screamed, but not one dared to move. Voldemort released the curse, and the girl panted for breath.

"Consider yourself incredibly lucky I don't just kill you." The Dark Lord snarled.

"None of you are worth even half of what he is. You'll do best to remember that." the entire congregation stood stock still. And Harry swore he heard the sound of someone throwing up in the back somewhere.

Harry finally looked at the Dark Lord, and found exactly what he expected. The man had obviously changed into his more intimidating form, which Harry knew he would do. Voldemort looked at him and hissed in Parseltongue;

'_I wish I could just kill the bitch. Still not sure if I'm not going to, to be honest.' _Harry snorted a laugh, and most of the Slytherins in the front looked flabbergasted by the exchange.

"We were just debating wether or not we should just kill the bitch," Harry said, gesturing to the still panting girl on the ground.

"Please," She said, her voice hoarse.

"I'll never disrespect you again, I swear it." once again, the Boy Who Lived turned to Voldemort.

'_What do you say?' _Harry noticed that the Dark Lord flinched almost imperceptibly at the sound of the snake language.

'_Just leave her. There is no need. She is simply stupid. And I'm certain that she'll never say another disrespectful thing to you as long as she lives.'_

"Okay, so this is the deal. Not a single one of you talks about tonight. The only time you are allowed to speak of it, is to the other Slytherins who aren't here. Then you will never speak of it again. Not even to each other. And not one of you talks about the raid on Azkaban. If any one of you has told someone who is not in Slytherin, you are to tell them, as soon as humanly possible, that you found out it was a lie. Understood?" Every single Slytherin student in the room nodded vigorously.

"Good. Now get out."

The Slytherins all flooded to the door as one, all avoiding the Dark Lord in a wide circle. Once the room was clear, Harry turned to face the Dark Lord, and realized that the man already looked like Tom Riddle. _That was quick, _Harry thought.

"Are you ready to go?" Harry asked.

"Just one thing, first." The room changed abruptly, changing to an even bigger room filled with junk.

Harry wasn't even aware that the room could change once you were inside.

Tom strode purposely into the piles of random objects, emerging moments later with what looked to be a tiara. Harry raised his eyebrow in question.

"It's a horcrux. Now that I know that that old fool knows about them, I'm not comfortable with it being here."

Harry nodded in understanding, and he grabbed onto Tom's arm, trying to keep all sexual thoughts out of his head, lest he break the vow.

_(A/N someone is probably going to die next chapter. Metaphorical cookies to those who guess who it is. Here's a hint. His initials are Albus Dumbledore. Love yooooohhhhhhh all.) _


	32. Nice weather for ducks

(_A/N and here I am again. Just cant keep myself away.)_

Harry lay on his stomach, watching the Marauders map. It had been three days since he had spoken with the Slytherins, and all that time, they had avoided him like the plague. Except for Malfoy and Zabini. Which suited him just fine really. It was pretty much the same as before.

He was currently watching the headmasters dot pace back and forth in his office. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity. He needed the man somewhere where there was no portraits. And no witnesses. He had been waiting for a day and a half, but the man had barely left his office. He scowled at the dot and willed it to leave the office.

It didn't.

Ginny had caught onto the fact that he was planning something rather quickly, but he refused to share the details. He told her that she would just have to wait and see. She then became appropriately wary. Harry had gotten into the habit of sharing everything with her, no matter how gory. The fact that he wasn't willing to tell her made her worried. But mostly for his safety.

Over the last few days, Harry had imagined Albus Dumbledore's death a number of times. At one point, he had almost stood up in the great hall and shot an Avarda Kedavra in his direction. He had to grip the table extraordinarily tightly to stop himself. Though it would have been immensely satisfying to see the looks on everyone's faces, it would have been monumentally counterproductive.

The Boy Who Lived sighed and twirled the portkey ring on his finger. He spent a further ten minutes staring blankly at the map, before he realized that the dot labeled 'Albus Dumbledore' was not in the office. It was no where near any meal time, it was actually after curfew. So that wasn't the reason the Headmaster had left his office.

He scanned the map frantically, and he finally spotted him, in the astronomy tower. Completely alone. _That's just way to easy. _But Harry wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. He jumped up of the bed, yanking his invisibility cloak from his trunk and raced down the stairs, throwing the cloak over his head as he went. He kept the map with him, just in case anyone decided to take a moonlit stroll to the tower.

He watched the dot intently as he half ran toward the tower. He had to avoid filch on the way, but that was hardly a problem.

Albus Dumbledore had his back to Harry, and the Boy Who Lived didn't even bother hiding the gleeful smirk that graced his face at that moment. This was going to be easy.

Harry drew his dead ash wand, and poked it through the gap in the cloak.

"Expelliarmus," Harry muttered, and Dumbledore's wand flew from his pocket and fell from the tower. Dumbledore spun around, and the Chosen One revealed himself.

"H- Harrry? What are you doing?" The Headmaster looked confused, and the Boy Who Lived noted that he had never seen the old man look that way before.

"Oh, nothing. Just thought I would go for a walk and then I saw- FUCK YOU! You ruined my life!" Harry's hand clapped over his mouth, wondering where the hell that had come from.

"What is going on Harry?" Dumbledore was beginning to look afraid, and Harry decided to make this quick.

"I'm going to kill you. Right here, right now. This is what your fake prophesy has brought you. It's your fault my parents are dead." Harry raised his wand again, pointing it directly at the elderly mans face.

"I feel as though I should warn you Harry. Murder breaks the soul. It can never be repaired." Harry bared his teeth in a mockery of a smile.

"What makes you think I've never done it before?"

Dumbledore's face fell.

"Who, Harry?"

The Boy Who Lived shrugged his shoulders.

"Hermione, Ron, some guards in Azkaban. What does it matter?"

"Oh, Harry, my boy I'm so very sorry. It's affected you worse than I thought." Harry frowned for a moment, wondering what the hell the old man was on about, when it dawned on him.

"You _knew._" Harry stated simply.

"All this time, you've known about the Horcrux? And you were just going to let me die? You know what, don't answer that. The Horcrux is gone. It has been for a long time." At that point, Harry had completely forgotten about the 'Do not banter,' rule. He was insanely pissed off. Besides, why not give the bastard a word lashing?

"It- it's gone?" This, more than anything else, appeared to stump the Headmaster.

"Yup. Voldemort removed it."

"So you've gone to him," Dumbledore's voice sounded numb, and Harry grinned.

"Yeah, actually. We've gotten real close. We're practically lovers, as a matter of fact. Tell me, are Dark Lord's any good in the sack? You would know."

"My god, Harry," Dumbledore was actually crying.

"Please-"

"Avarda Kedavra." By his tone, one would think he were ordering a chai tea. The Headmaster fell backwards, completely falling from the tower, just as his wand had.

Harry turned with a ridiculously satisfied grin on his face, only to stop dead. Severus Snape was standing directly behind him.

"Oh, _shit,_"

Snape was looking at Harry like he had never seen him before. The Boy Who Lived had never seen his potions professor look shocked before. It was a day for new expressions, apparently.

"How long have you been standing there?" Harry asked frantically. At best, he had only seen the Headmaster's death. At worst, he had heard Harry saying that he was practically the Dark Lord's lover.

"I walked in shortly before 'fuck you, you ruined my life.'" Harry's mouth feel open.

"You've been standing there the _whole _time?"

Snape nodded.

"What- why, what. What. Then why," Harry shook his head vigorously, trying to clear his thoughts.

"Why didn't you stop me? Did he see you? Why didn't he say something to you? Why didn't you say something to me?"

Snape simply stared at Harry for a moment, still looking shell shocked.

"He knew that I would not stop you." Snape said after a moment.

"Why? Why would you not stop me?"

"We shouldn't be having this conversation here." Was all the elder man said.

"Fine," Harry spat, scooping up his cloak. He grabbed Snape by the arm quickly and activated the portkey.

OoOoO

Harry paced outside of the Dark Lord's office. The door was closed, and he had no idea what Snape and Voldemort were talking about. The Dark Lord had summoned his potions professor in without saying anything to Harry, and as he had gone to enter the office along with them, the door had slammed in his face.

The Boy Who Lived randomly burst into laughter at the thought of what had just happened. Dumbledore was dead! And how fantastic did that feel? He paused and pressed his ear to the door for the hundredth time, once again hearing nothing.

He growled and began pacing again. His whole body was buzzing with adrenalin. He wanted to know what was going on, and he wanted to know _now._ Harry laughed again. He had just killed the second greatest wizard in the entire world, and all it took was a simple disarming spell.

It took a further half an hour for the door to finally open. Snape walked out without even looking at Harry, not that he cared.

"So you did it. Can't truly say that I'm surprised."

Harry laughed for the umpteenth time that night, and took a seat across from the Dark Lord. Voldemort changed his appearance as soon as the Boy Who Lived sat down.

"You look pleased," Tom observed.

"You should have seen his face! Ha! I can't believe that just happened." Harry rubbed his hands together and leaned back in his chair. He then decided that he was uncomfortable and leaned forward again.

Tom ignored his fidgeting.

"I've decided that Severus will become headmaster of Hogwarts." Harry blinked at him for a moment.

"Since when do you have a say in that?" He asked.

"The minister for magic decides who the new headmaster will be. And since Lucius Malfoy has his head jammed up the Minister's ass, it shouldn't be a problem manipulating him into instating Severus."

Harry smirked.

"You said ass."

"So glad that you pay attention to everything I say." Tom said, raising an eyebrow.

"So, I did tell you not to ramble and just kill him straight away, didn't I?"

"Yeah, well, it didn't turn out that way, did it?" Harry frowned and crossed his arms defensively.

"It's no matter. Everything worked out rather well, considering. But next time, do remember not to talk." Harry had zoned out then, Watching Tom's lips move. He was still speaking, but Harry heard nothing.

"I highly doubt that- are you alright? You're breathing rather heavily." The Boy Who Lived snapped out of his odd trance and looked up into the Dark Lord's eyes.

"Yeah, you just have these really tasty looking lips, that's all." Harry didn't even realize what he had actually said, and then returned his eyes to Tom's lips, which were now tilted into a smirk.

"Are you sure you're alright? You didn't take any drugs, did you?" The Dark Lord was still smirking.

"No, just really buzzed right now, don't stop moving your mouth." Tom's lips then created a genuine smile, and Harry felt his doing the same thing.

"So Severus told me that you said you were practically my lover."

"Shoulda seen the old mans face when I said that." Harry mumbled.

"Then I asked him how Dark Lord's were in bed." He snorted, not looking away from the Dark Lord's lips.

"I don't know about the rest of them, but I can assure you, I am quite skilled."

Harry laughed softly.

"I'm sure that you tell yourself that."

Tom leaned forward, his face becoming serious. Or at least, his lips did.

'_Break the vow, Harry.' _It was less of a demand and more of a plead.

Harry surprised the both of them by scrambling across the desk on all fours. He stopped directly in front of the Dark Lord's face, kneeling on the hard wood. They were so close that their noses nearly touched, and Tom took a deep, shaky breath.

'_Don't fuck with me. If you're just fucking with me I swear-' _Harry cut off the Dark Lord's parseltongue by slamming his mouth onto his.

The Dark Lord let out what sounded like a relieved whimper. The Boy Who Lived climbed onto the chair so fast it fell backwards, slamming both of them into the ground. Neither noticed. Harry straddled the Dark Lord, and was thrilled with the position of dominance. Thrilled that Tom was letting him. He threaded his hand through the Dark Lord's hair, and pulled it gently, testing.

He released the kiss, and Tom whimpered again. Harry stared down at the man, wondering how exactly this had even happened.

"You broke the vow," Tom's voice was raspy.

"Yeah. Yeah I did." Harry pulled slightly harder on the Dark Lord's hair, and decided it was just as soft as it looked.

Tom tilted his head back, silently asking that he pull harder. Harry obliged. His hands had ended up on Harry's hips, and he tightened his grip when the teen had pulled hard enough to cause pain.

Harry's mouth found it's way to the Dark Lord's neck, nibbling and sucking. Tom groaned, and brought his hand up into Harry's hair, pulling his head up so that he was looking him in the eye.

"I knew you would give in,"

Harry smirked and licked his lips.

"So did I." He answered.

_(A/N BWAHAHA. I did it again, didn't I? My bad. Snape's freaky ninja sneaky thing has always reminded me of my brother in law. In fact, they even look and sound the same. I think that they may be related.)_


	33. End of an era

_(A/N so I was thinking last night, that LT might not have a sequel. And if it does, it wont be about Tom and Harry. More about their future successors. If I even do it. I figure, the way this is going, I wont have enough to talk about for a sequel. If I do do a sequel, it will be 400 years into the future, with two OC's in an AU world. So it will practically be original fiction. Which is why I'm not sure about doing it. But it pretty much wrote itself in my head last night. And kept me awake for hours. So I don't know. Let me know what you think, kay? Also, I'm writing another HP/TR, and it should be on my profile the same time as this chapter. You should check it out. Its going to be awesome! *end shameless self promotion*)_

Harry arrived back at Hogwarts at the exact moment his past self left. He had used his time turner at Tom's insistence. He had told Harry that the alarms would go off any second as soon as he got back, So the Boy Who Lived got into his pajama's as quickly as possible.

The very moment he got into bed and drew the curtains, the alarm sounded. It was the loudest most gut wrenching noise he had ever heard.

His room mates started stirring, and he heard Dean swear.

"What _is _that?" Neville asked, his voice groggy with sleep.

"I don't know," Harry responded, putting a suitable amount of worry in his voice.

Just as he said that, McGonagall opened the door and said in a rushed voice;

"boys, make your way into the Common room, please. Do not dawdle."

Harry and Neville shared a look, sensing the professor's worry. All four boys made their way down the narrow stairway, and Harry saw that Ginny and her room mates were already down there, along with a large portion of the Gryffindor students.

The red headed Weasley watched Harry suspiciously, and he winked at her.

McGonagall came down from the seventh year dorms, with a group of students following her. She came to stand in front of them, looking forlorn. The alarm silenced itself.

"I would like for all of you to follow me to the great hall at once, in an orderly fashion."

OoOoO

Harry stood, along with every other student of Hogwarts, in the center of the great hall. Ginny stood next to him, looking worried and confused.

"What happened, Harry?" She whispered to him.

Harry nudged her in the ribs and shushed her, looking around nervously.

McGonagall stood in front of the podium, sadness obvious on her face.

"It is my deepest regret to inform you that our beloved headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, has been murdered."

The uproar was horrendous and instant.

"Where?" One Slytherin yelled, louder than the rest.

"Where was he killed?" McGonagall looked down on the Slytherin disapprovingly.

"Here, in the castle." Again, the students panicked, some of them even looking to Harry for protection.

_If only they knew, _he thought, suppressing a smirk.

"That means the killer could still be in the castle," The same Slytherin yelled.

A large number of Slytherin's looked at him. He glared and shook his head minutely, warning them. All of them looked away instantly. Luckily, no one saw the exchange besides Severus Snape, who was rather curious as to why his students looked scared half to death of the Boy Who Lived.

Everyone else was simply to busy having panic attacks.

"You must remain calm! Owls are being sent to your guardians as we speak. As for tonight, we will be staying together here in the hall. You are all strictly forbidden to leave this hall without the accompaniment of a staff member." The transfiguration professor had to shout over the din.

OoOoO

Later that night, once everyone was settled into a sleeping bag, Ginny turned to Harry, and said, in a very demanding tone;

"We will be talking about this later,"

Harry had smirked and rolled over.

OoOoO

Severus Snape's first order of business as Headmaster was to fire every professor in the school. It had taken some time to replace them, but nearly every new teacher was either a death eater or a Voldemort supporter. The number of students at Hogwarts had greatly diminished, now only housing a measly three hundred students.

To Harry's surprise, and delight, Ginny had been allowed to stay. On the condition that Harry himself did. Neville had also remained, though his grandmother had made it very clear that if 'one more fishy thing' happened, he would be transferred to a different school.

Luna remained as well, and Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that. She was the one person who knew his secret, and didn't have any reason to keep it.

Just about every Slytherin had stayed, and they made it their personal goal to terrorize every other house. They had strength in numbers now, after all. Harry had told them that they had to treat him exactly as they had before. If not worse. Having them suddenly kiss the ground he walked on would cause suspicion among his fellow students.

The Boy Who Lived acted as a conduit for the Dark Lord's orders, giving them to Snape, who then gave them to the other deatheaters in the school.

Harry was a well kept secret, and the only deatheaters who knew of his allegiance were Snape and Pettigrew. Wormtail had become a very loyal servant to Harry, though he didn't really need one. Peter stayed with the Dark Lord, and the Boy Who Lived had drilled the fact into his head, that, under no circumstances, should he disobey Voldemort.

A month and a half had passed since Harry had murdered Dumbledore. And no one, not even for a second, suspected him. Except the Slytherin's, but they knew to keep their mouths firmly shut.

Ginny had all but forced Eris to go and stay with Voldemort, and he did so, eventually, and begrudgingly. This, is turn, made Ginny a frequent visitor to the Dark Lord's manor.

As Harry had suspected, everyone now assumed that he and Ginny were a couple. Even her parents thought so, and her mother had all but planned their wedding. The Boy Who Lived went along with it, though he wasn't a fan of it. Ginny didn't seem to enjoy it either, she had said that it made her feel as though she was betraying Eris. But she insisted that it was better than the alternative.

Tom had called on him earlier that month, and confirmed that yes, Harry was a decedent of Slytherin.

As it turned out, his great grandmother on his mother's side had been a squib, born from a affair between Marvolo Gaunt and a witch from the Zabini family. Said witch had been married at the time, and since the child was a squib, she had been abandoned in the muggle world. Harry didn't even know how Tom had figured this out from a vial of blood.

Harry had blanched when he realized that his great grandmother was Tom's aunt. He had refused to touch the Dark Lord for days after that, saying that they were related and that was disgusting. To which Tom replied,

"Only distantly,"

Harry had, of course, given in.

Every time Tom and Harry attempted to have a serious conversation, it tended to disintegrate into a heavy make out session. Which Harry would stop prematurely, just in case it turned into something he wasn't ready for. The Dark Lord mostly accepted it, saying that he knew Harry would give in eventually. And he knew he would. He couldn't resist Tom, no matter how hard he tried. And that worried him.

Harry sat, currently, in his potions class, which was now being taught by Antonin Dolohov.

The one thing that Harry despised about being the Boy Who Lived in a school full of deatheaters, was the fact that they taunted him mercilessly. The only reason they hadn't attempted murder, was that the Dark Lord had told them all that he had plans for him, and that no one was to interfere.

That didn't change the fact that they were making Harry's life hell. He worried about Ginny, since she was supposedly his girlfriend, she would be an easy target for the deatheaters. He knew it wouldn't be long until they tried something. Harry just needed to be at her side when it happened.

Because of this, he never left her alone between classes. When he had a meeting with the Dark Lord, he took Ginny with him. Not that she complained, since Eris was now situated in the manor.

But that didn't stop the gnawing fear in his gut. He had asked Tom to tell his deatheaters to leave Ginny alone as well, but he had said that it would be to obvious, after the rumor that he and the youngest Weasley had joined the Dark Lord. There would be no doubt in the deatheaters minds that the Boy Who Lived had joined them.

And they weren't ready for that yet.

So Harry was on edge, mostly all the time.

"Potter, tell me the magical properties of the Cobbleroot tree." Harry's head snapped up and he stared at the deatheater, scowling.

They hadn't covered that at all yet.

He vaguely remembered Tom mentioning something about a Cobbleroot tree, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what he had said.

For the last month, the Dark Lord had been tutoring Harry. He was making progress, if only slight. He was to busy being incredibly distracted by Toms mouth.

"Fuck's me, Professor."

Dolohov scowled, and his hand twitched as if he wanted to curse him.

"One hundred points from Gryffindor."

Harry grinned widely. His house mates, what was left of them, were used to this. The house of the lions was in the minus with their points. No one really cared anymore. They even cheered Harry on, some of the time. Though mostly they were to frightened to really do anything wrong.

Harry saw potential in his fellow Gryffindors. Though they were apparently brave and valiant, he saw nothing but obedience in them. Terrified submission. And that, to Harry, was a sign that they weren't all a lost cause.

OoOoO

"How many points are you behind now?" Tom asked conversationally.

"Ohm, fink tis lik a fosand." Harry replied, his mouth full of his dinner. The Dark Lord scowled.

"Swallow first," He commanded.

"Like minus a thousand now, I think. Haven't really been paying attention."

"I think Gryffindor is going to lose the house cup this year." Tom said, smirking.

"Thanks to me, of course. When are we going to tell them? Cause I cant damn wait to crucio the shit outta them."

"In good time. Hogwarts is practically ours now. Lucius has been doing an excellent job of manipulating the minister. We now have thirty deatheaters in the ministry, as of yesterday. That isn't anywhere near enough for a takeover, but I think it will be little over a month until we can move into position."

"First Hogwarts, then the world!" Harry yelled dramatically, stretching his arms over his head. Tom grinned.

"Pretty much,"

Harry took another bite of his food. He had been having dinner with the Dark Lord nearly every night for two weeks, and at one point, the pair even attempted to spend the night together.

That hadn't gone so well, and Harry had had to break away from Tom's ruthless advances and portkey back to Hogwarts.

He hadn't gotten much sleep that night.

"I'm worried about Ginny." Harry said again. He had said it many times before. The girl in question was somewhere in the manor, 'gallivanting with that brat of a necromancer,' as Tom had put it.

He and Eris didn't get along, to say the least. Harry was certain it was only for his benefit that the Dark Lord hadn't brutally killed him yet. The Boy Who Lived had witnessed many a rant about how awful Eris was to live with.

Harry had told Tom he was being a child. The Dark Lord had replied with;

"fuck you, you're a child."

Tom watched Harry carefully.

"She'll be fine. Besides, if they do kill her, you can just bring her back." they had had this conversation before as well.

"Yeah, but I don't want her to turn out like Pettigrew. I don't want a servant, I want her as she is."

Tom shrugged.

"I'm sure you could just tell her to act as she used to. Wormtail is pretty much the same disgusting lump that he used to be."

"I don't want her to be disgusting either! It would be so much better if she just didn't die at all." Harry crossed his arms across his chest, his dinner forgotten.

"She won't be disgusting, merlin you can be stubborn." Tom said, and as an afterthought;

"In more way's than one."

Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"It would just be so much better if we could just tell them." Harry repeated, ignoring the Dark Lord's implication.

"Soon enough."

_(A/N, also, my net is totally ruined, and I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'm posting this from a friends place, and here on out, updating will be slow, and likely chapters will be posted in clumps. Until I can get it working again, but at this point it looks like I'm reinstalling windows. *sigh* but never fear I'm not giving up on this. )_


	34. Swim with the sharks

(_A/N hiya guys. Net is now fixed. Sorry for the delay. *dodges thrown tomatoes.* anyways, I love love love you guys for reviewing. For those of you who haven't checked it out yet, got a new HP/TR on my profile that I'm working on. Go and look at it. Quickly. Now. Go. :D )_

"I think it's time to collect the Elder wand and my horcrux."

Harry looked up at the Dark Lord.

"The what? What's an Elder wand?"

"It's one of the Deathly Hallows. You are actually already in possession of one of the Hallows."

Harry blinked.

"What are they, and how do I already have one without knowing it?"

The Dark Lord, who was in his 'human' form, smirked.

"Your invisibility cloak. Surely you knew that it was not normal? Most invisibility cloaks fade and wear out with time. Yours has not. The Hallows themselves are three items, a wand, a cloak and a stone. Together they make their owner immune to death. I have reason to believe that you are now the master of the wand. I also have a theory about the Gaunt ring. But I will have to investigate further."

"Wait, how did I become the master of the wand? Didn't Dumbledore have the ring? Am I supposed to go grave digging?" Harry blanched at that thought. He very much did not want to go digging in his headmasters grave. It had been a month and a half, after all. Whatever was contained within surely was not pretty.

"Yes. You are going to go grave digging. And Dumbledore was the master of the Elder wand. When you killed him, you became the master of the wand. "

"So I'm practically immune to death? What's the point of that? I'm already unkillable." Harry said.

"It's not so much about being the master of death, it's more about the individual usefulness of the items."

"Why couldn't we have just gone to his grave earlier? I mean, it's gonna be gross in there." Harry made a face.

"His grave has been heavily guarded up until now. It's still being protected, but a fair sight less." Tom smirked, and Harry had a feeling it had to do with Harry's dislike of the Dark Lord's plan.

"So how come you don't just do it yourself? How about you be the wands master?"

Tom shook his head.

"For a time, that is what I wanted. But I am fine with you being the wands master. It's pretty much mine, by proxy."

Harry frowned at the implication that what was Harry's was Tom's, but didn't say anything.

"What about the stone? What's that?"

"It can call the dead to you. I think it may have been under my nose the whole time. I believe it may be in the ring that housed my horcrux." Tom pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"If I had of known, I would have never let it out of my sight."

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"You're about to get it back, anyway. And it's not like you really need any horcruxes any more. I mean, except for one." The Boy Who Lived discreetly pointed at himself.

The Dark Lord laughed quietly.

"You'll get what you want. But for now, I want you to go to the tomb, and get those objects."

"How can you be sure that the wand and the ring are even in there?" Harry asked.

"The order wouldn't be guarding it so heavily. I'm not sure that they know what it is exactly they are guarding, but I imagine that he would have told them how very important it was that they protect it."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense. He'd definitely say something like that."

"I would suggest that you glamour yourself before you leave. If they do see you, it would be counterproductive for them to see you as the Boy Who Lived."

"So what do I do if they see me? I mean, a glamour is all well and good, but what happens if they catch me? The glamour will eventually wear off."

Tom grinned.

"Don't get caught, Harry."

* * *

><p>Harry was in a clearing, in the middle of butt fuck no where, staring at Dumbledore's tomb. He had mere minutes to get the hallows and get out. Tom had warned that there would likely be wards that would alert his enemies of his presence.<p>

He levitated the lid off of the tomb, and found that his fears of a rotting body were unfounded. Dumbledore looked just as he did the day he died.

Sure enough, The ring was still on the mans dead looking finger. Apparently death had not healed the effects of Toms horcrux. the wand in his other hand. Harry quickly took the ring. He slipped it onto his finger, the same hand that his portkey was on. He then grabbed the wand.

As soon as he did, a couple of things happened.

The first was that Harry got an overwhelming feeling right at the center of himself, and it was telling him that he was right where he needed to be. This was his destiny.

The second, was that there was someone behind the Boy Who Lived. Harry remained oblivious, until he heard the person yelling at him. He didn't even turn around to see who the person was before he activated the portkey.

Of course, nothing was ever that simple for one Harry James Potter.

He was hit with a spell he didn't recognize just as he felt the pull of the portkey, and he landed face first in the dirt, completely baffled by the fact that he was still in the same place.

another thing that baffled him was the fact that his right arm was missing, along with his portkey, the ring and the wand. He was rather angry that they had left without him. And confused. He spent precious seconds staring at his absent arm, until he remembered that he wasn't alone.

He pulled his dead ash wand from within his cloak, feeling strange holding it with his left hand. He stood quickly and aimed the wand at his attacker. He wondered why the part of his arm that remained didn't hurt.

Harry grimaced when he realized that there was more than one. Twelve men and women stood, with their wands all trained on him.

The Boy Who Lived felt rather calm, considering the fact that he was greatly outnumbered. All he was worried about was wether or not the wand and the stone had made their way back to Tom. If not, he had no idea where they would have ended up. He also wanted his arm back, but he knew that the Dark Lord would likely be able to fix him.

All thirteen people stood, glaring. Not one of them moved for the longest time. It seemed as if they were waiting for Harry to make a move.

The Chosen One had his wand trained on the man that stood in front of the rest. He was obviously their leader. Harry wasn't about to duel them. If Harry was right, and his arm did make it back to Tom, the man himself would be there any moment.

He just needed to hold them off until then.

A woman that he hadn't even been watching sent a stunner in his direction, and he didn't get a chance to dodge it.

For the second time that day, Harry landed face first in the dirt.

"We need to get him to headquarters, he might have back up." He heard someone say, and he would have cursed like a sailor, if he had of been able to move his mouth.

He felt himself being pulled through a long thin tube, and it took him a moment to realize that he was being apparated.

_ohhhh, Tom's gonna be soo pissed_. Harry thought to himself as he was yanked up off the floor.

He took in his surroundings, and felt rather superior when he realized that the order of the phoenix now used a shit hole as a base. After his godfathers death, they had apparently seen fit to move into an even worse hovel.

_Looks like their doing really well on the money side of things,_ He mused.

His body was still stiff, and he hated being so vulnerable. He wasn't afraid, because they could not kill him. He was worried though. His glamour was not going to last forever, no matter how strong the Dark Lord's magic was. If Tom didn't find him, and soon, shit was going to hit the fan.

Harry felt himself being bent to sit in a chair, then being bound to it. He could already feel the stunner fading, and he decided that the woman that cast it was not very skilled.

The Boy Who Lived kept himself very still, though at that point, he could likely have moved. He had no desire to talk to them, so he let them think he was unable.

Twenty minutes passed and he could tell that the order was getting annoyed. They had long since cast the counter spell to the stunner, and it then became clear that Harry was just sitting stock still of his own accord.

He had so far seen two people that he knew. Tonks and Remus. He was hoping that Molly Weasley never saw him as his true self. That would definitely be bad for Ginny.

He assumed that his glamour was still holding, because the room he was trapped in had not erupted into mayhem. Tom had told him that he probably had two hours before it faded, and the two had deemed it plenty enough time to get in and out.

Harry resisted the urge to snort.

In and out.

Why did nothing ever go to plan?

Harry watched with mild interest as the order members whispered in the corner of the dingy room, and wished that he could hear what they were saying. The Boy Who Lived had barely moved an inch since he had been brought to the order's headquarters, and he didn't plan to move until Tom found him.

That was assuming that he did.

The wards on this place would have to be impressive, considering that Dumbledore would likely have warded the place himself, before his death.

Another man entered the room then, and Harry's eyes widened. He recognized him. He was a deatheater.

Tom had recruited many people since the Azkaban raid, and he had not marked many of them. Though he preferred his followers to bear his mark, it was to easy to tell who was a deatheater. As a result, the Dark Lord had roughly a hundred men and woman who had sworn an unbreakable vow to serve Voldemort.

A fair few were placed at the ministry, and many more were poised to become unspeakables, ministry officials and aurors. But he hadn't told Harry that he had one placed in the order of the phoenix.

This was his way out then. He needed to get that deatheaters attention. The question was, how? He was wearing a glamour, and the man wouldn't recognize Harry as a comrade. Hell, even as Harry Potter, not many knew who's side he was really on.

He couldn't draw attention to the deatheater, either. That would have been suspicious. He had been sitting there, stoic and unmoving. If he suddenly saw fit to talk to one of the order members, they would wonder why.

At that point, they had to assume that he was working for the Dark Lord. Why else would someone try and pilfer Dumbledore's grave?

Harry stared pointedly at the deatheater, whose name he vaguely remembered to be Tarent, trying to get his attention. He even tried planting thoughts in the mans head with parselmagic, but apparently the ropes that bound him to the chair weren't just physically binding.

He couldn't perform any magic.

That was going to make things difficult.

* * *

><p>Another half hour passed, and Harry was getting anxious.<p>

Surely Tom would have called his deatheaters to him by now? Especially the one who was situated in the order.

But Tarent still stood with the other order members, and nothing had changed.

A few people had tried to talk to him, and one man even tried to force veritiserum down his throat. Harry had growled as best he could have with his mouth firmly shut, and threatened murder with his eyes.

Remus had come and gone a few times, and he seemed incredibly uncomfortable being in the room with Harry. It could have been the fact that Harry was glaring death at everyone, but it could also have been how disgusting the house was.

Harry frowned once again at the broken down headquarters.

They had wands, didn't they? What was stopping them from making the place a little more hospitable? Even Tom's manor was more welcoming than this.

Harry's eyes once again did a lap of glaring around the room, when he spotted someone who made his gut fall through the floor.

Mad Eye Moody stood in the entrance, his magical eye swiveling madly in his head. He hadn't yet looked at the Boy Who Lived, but it wouldn't be long. Seconds, in fact.

And Moody could see through glamours.

_Fuck, _Harry thought, just as the magical eye landed on him.

"What is he doing here?" Moody asked the room at large.

"We found him trying to rob Albus' grave. We're pretty sure he's in with You Know Who. But he hasn't got a dark mark." A woman answered his question, and Harry was pretty sure it was the same woman who had stunned him.

"He's not under the imperius," Moody said, more to himself.

"Why would that be of importance, Alastor? We know that he's not under the imperious. You can tell just by looking at his eyes." The same woman said.

Moody came closer to Harry, and kneeled so they were at eye level. Both the mans eyes were trained on the Boy Who Lived, and Harry felt like squirming. This was it. His and Tom's entire plan was screwed. Unless he found a way to somehow kill everyone in the room without magic, or moving at all.

Harry felt a prodding in his mind, and was horrified to find that his Oclumency walls had fallen because of his magical bindings.

Alastor Moody saw everything.

Right from him sitting on his bed in Privet Drive, wondering why he wasn't upset about Sirius' death, to the present moment.

Apparently, Moody had seen more than he had been expecting, because he simply stared at Harry in shock for roughly ten minutes. Harry stared right back.

Alastor needed to die. And Tom needed to get here. Now.

Moody drew his wand and stood. Harry wondered if the man was going to try and kill him. He had seen the memory of him talking with Death, so it wasn't likely.

He felt the wand being placed under his chin, and he resisted the urge to spit on the man before him. Harry felt his glamour slip, and realized that Moody had wordlessly removed it. Though he was monumentally pissed off by this fact, he was also mildly impressed by Alastor's skill.

The entire room fell silent.

"This must be some kind of trick," One man said. Tonks even pulled her wand on Moody, and a few of the order members followed suit.

"There's no way that Harry would be working for You Know Who." Tonks said after a moment of tense silence.

"He's more than just working for him," Alastor muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" This was the woman who had stunned him earlier.

"I read his mind. And this is indeed Harry James Potter, in the flesh. It seems a lot has changed." Alastor looked at the Boy Who Lived in disgust, and Harry dared him with his eyes to keep talking.

"Go ahead, Mad Eye. You saw it all, say it. You know that he'll be here soon." Harry smirked at the older wizard.

"I highly doubt that boy, you've been captured. You are now a liability. He's not coming for you. That is assuming he can even find you here, or knows that you're even missing. No matter how important you are, Potter, you are disposable to him."

Harry sneered at Alastor, but there was a small part of him that wondered if it was true. Would Tom leave him here? Was he really a liability now?

"What in merlin's name is going on?" Tonks asked, clearly confused by the exchange.

"There's no way that he is really Harry. I know Harry. That's not him." She added.

The Boy Who Lived turned his attention to the Metamorphmagus.

"Sorry, Tonks. The game has changed. It's true. I am Harry Potter. And I'm one of the Dark Lord's men." Harry said this with such reverence that Tonks blanched.

"Now I know it's not true. Harry would never betray us. He would never go to the monster that killed his parents."

The Boy Who Lived flinched slightly at the statement.

"Believe what you want, Nymphadora. It doesn't matter to me. Just know that you are all fighting a lost cause."

"And what if we were to just kill you now?" A man to his left and out of his line of vision asked.

"You can go ahead and try," Harry sighed, sounding bored. He then noticed that the deatheater, Tarent, was gone. No one had noticed his exit, and Harry had to fight a smirk.

The Dark Lord would be there soon. All he had to do was wait.

"We cant bloody kill him, what if he's under some sort of spell? We can fun some tests. If this is Harry, there's no way he was robbing Albus' grave on his own free will," Tonks snapped at the man who had suggested murder.

Harry heard a crash and a shout from somewhere below him.

"I don't think there will be any need for tests. He's here." Harry grinned manically, and the order members looked at each other in fear and confusion. Moody was watching Harry speculatively.

"What makes you different?" He asked, and Harry didn't answer. He was to busy bouncing in his seat, trying to get a better look at the door.

The shouting had grown louder now, and Harry wondered if Tom was on his own, or if he had brought his followers with him.

It took two minutes and twenty nine seconds for the door to be blown off its hinges. Harry knew, because he had been counting. The men and women in the room had all been standing in front of the entrance, waiting for the onslaught. Three had been knocked flying by the door.

Voldemort stood in all his glorious fury, surrounded by fifty or so deatheaters. Harry thought that this a little over the top, but at least it would be an easy victory.

The Boy Who Lived counted to ten. In that time, every order member in the room was dead or fighting for their lives. Harry was slightly saddened by having to lose Tonks, but it was necessary. She knew. She may not have believed it, but she would figure it out one day. And it could well have been one day to soon. Just as he thought this, a jet of green light hit the witch, and she fell to the ground, dead. Her eyes seemed to be trained on Harry, and he had to look away.

Voldemort's gaze fell on the Boy Who Lived, and he stalked forward quickly, undoing Harry's bindings. The Dark Lord yanked him to his feet, and looked around hastily, before his eyes found Harry's again.

"You scared me half to death," Voldemort hissed.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of that statement.

"Really now? Were you afraid I was going to die?"

"Shut up brat. Here," He said, holding out Harry's portkey ring for him to take.

"Oh, did the wand and the ring get to you okay? And my arm?" The Boy Who Lived asked, having just remembered that he was missing part of himself.

"Yes, yes and yes. Now go. You're useless here without your wand arm. We will be done here quickly." Voldemort said. Harry looked around and realized that the Dark Lord was right. Only fifteen members of the order still stood, and he couldn't see a single fallen deatheater.

"Okay. I'll see you back at the manor then?"

Voldemort looked oddly angry, and Harry couldn't quite work out why.

"Yes." Was all he said, before he spun and disposed of three wizards within seconds.

(A/N_ who gets the flu in summer? Honestly. What is wrong with me? *sniffles pathetically.* OH, and for those of you anxiously awaiting smut, it could be happening next chapter. I mean, maybe. Possibly. )_


	35. Sedatione requiem

_(A/N __**Slash in this chapter. Thought ya'll should know.**__ for those of you confused about how its summer where I am, __I live in the north pole. Just kiddin, I live in a really bloody hot place called Australia. Granted, it's probably early autumn here now, I don't pay much attention, but it feels the damn same as summer to me. It's like summer nine months of the year here. And I have the freaking flu. Serves me right for not getting my shots. Oh well, moving on. And wow, this chapter is hugely long. Like fifteen pages longer than usual. Enjoy.)_

"Its not like anything really bad happened," Harry said for the hundredth time.

Tom, in his now usual human form, sat across from the Boy Who Lived with a scowl on his face. Harry had been trying to talk his way out of trouble for nearly an hour at that point. His rescue mission went better than expected, and Tom had managed to completely obliterate the order.

He didn't get every single member, but he got enough so it would take them a long time to regroup, if they even attempted it.

But be damned if the Dark Lord was ever happy about anything.

"That's not the point." Tom growled.

"Well you bloody decimated the order! That's a good thing."

The Dark Lord glared.

"They weren't a damn problem to begin with. You should have portkeyed away the second you had the Hallows."

"I tried! And if you weren't so bloody late, it would have been fine!" The Boy Who Lived was starting to get angry. They were just going around in circles.

"I told you the second your arm, your god damned_ arm_ Harry, landed on my desk, I called Tarent to me."

"Well I blame him then. He took to long." Harry crossed him arms defensively. He then tried to stare Tom down, but ended up looking away and frowning.

"He came as quickly as he could without drawing suspicion." The Dark Lord said in a tone that allowed no room for argument.

'Regardless, it is likely that some order member's escaped. There was no way to tell who managed to get away. And anyone that did get away, know's who's side you're really on. So whatever we do now, we need to do it quickly." Tom said, but Harry continued to stare into the corner.

"Also, a large portion of the deatheaters now know of your allegiance. I do try to keep them quiet, but they love to gossip amongst themselves. It's likely that every single one of them knows what happened. And most of them are going to be angry about it."

The Boy Who Lived continued to ignore the Dark Lord, scowling.

"Which is what this is for." Tom said, obviously expecting Harry to look at him. He didn't.

He still did not look up when a thick silver chain landed in his lap.

"If anything happens while you're at school, put your wand on the chain, and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Tom had, many hours before, repaired Harry's wand arm. He now had the elder wand tucked into his robes, exactly where it felt like it was supposed to be. The Gaunt ring was on his thumb, and his portkey still sat on his middle finger.

_With all this jewelry, people are gonna think I'm a freaking girl, _Harry thought bitterly.

"Put it on, Potter."

Regardless of how much their relationship had advanced, Tom still called him Potter. Except for the rare moments that made his stomach jump at the sound of his name on the Dark Lord's lips.

Harry never dared to call him Tom out loud.

So he simply avoided calling the Dark Lord anything. He didn't feel right calling him Voldemort, not after how much had happened between them.

And calling him my Lord was reserved for when Harry was feeling bitter and sarcastic.

"They could have hurt you," Tom's voice was barely above a whisper, and Harry finally looked at him.

"Pardon?" He wanted to hear him say it again.

"I said they could have hurt you." His tone was sharper this time, no where near as concerned or worried.

"It was stupid of you to risk that."

"I bloody didn't risk anything! As soon as I heard them behind me, I activated the portkey. And as if they would torture me. They all just stood in the corner whispering. Maybe they were hoping I would get bored and confess all my crimes. Honestly, they wouldn't know _how_ to hurt someone. And it doesn't freaking matter anyway, because they're all dead now."

"You shouldn't underestimate your enemies." Tom leaned back in his chair and sighed.

They sat in silence for a while, and Harry put the chain around his neck, feeling slightly annoyed by the weight of it. He looked up at Tom, who was staring at him already.

"So you were worried about me?" Harry smirked. Tom glared at him, but didn't say anything in return.

"Did you cry?" He pressed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Potter."

"Did you fall to the floor and curl up in the fetal position?" Harry's grin widened, and the Dark Lord's scowl grew.

"What about you, Harry? Were you afraid that I wouldn't come for you?" Tom whispered, his voice harsh.

The Boy Who Lived flinched, taken aback. Because for a second, he _had_ wondered if the Dark Lord would come. He wasn't going to tell Tom that though.

"No, I didn't doubt it for a second. What is it that you were really afraid of?"

It was the Dark Lord's turn to look taken aback. He leaned forward in his chair, staring Harry in the face with more intensity than he was expecting. It was all Harry could do to not look away.

"I don't fear anything, Potter."

"When you came for me. At the order. You said I scared you half to death." Harry pressed. He wasn't going to let the Dark Lord off the hook with this one.

"Fine. I was afraid you would break our deal. That you would see the people you used to fight for, and you would consider this a mistake."

Harry frowned, wondering if that was all Tom feared.

"That's it? That's what you were afraid of?"

"I was afraid I would lose you to them," He whispered. He then shook his head and frowned as if he couldn't believe what he had just said.

The Boy Who Lived sat stock still, sure that he imagined what he had just heard. Tom didn't say things like that. Not to anyone.

"You should know that I'm not going anywhere." Harry whispered just as quietly. He didn't want to break whatever had just happened.

"It's to late, anyway." Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, because the Dark Lord's eyes narrowed.

"So you do want to leave? It's just to late?" Tom spat the words, and Harry flinched.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be."

The Dark Lord still had a nasty look on his face.

"I'm not so sure. What is it exactly you're trying to do here Potter? Enlighten me."

"I don't know what you mean by that. And I'm pretty sure you're really overreacting here. I told you that I didn't mean it that way."

"Either answer the question or shut your mouth," Tom snarled. He then stood and stalked out of the room.

Harry sat staring at the chair that the Dark Lord had occupied mere seconds before, and he decided that he wasn't done. Not by a long shot.

He got up and followed the Dark Lord's footsteps, not entirely certain where Tom had even gone.

It didn't take long to find the man, not with the noise that was coming from behind the door. Harry was pretty certain that the Dark Lord was flinging curses around the room, with all the glass shattering and parseltongue hissing that he could hear.

His had hesitated on the door handle, and he wondered if it was even worth getting hit with a spell.

Tom was overreacting hugely.

Harry was certain that he hadn't really said anything that bad. It was possible that Tom was just looking for a reason to be angry at him. Why, though, Harry wasn't sure.

He stood with his hand on the handle for a long while, until the chaos within calmed.

When he entered, Tom was facing away from him, his shoulders rising and falling harshly, as if he had just run a marathon.

The room itself was decimated. One of the walls was entirely missing, the roof sagged in one place, and Harry felt like he was in danger of being crushed by falling debris just standing there. Every single object in the room was smashed, and it all formed piles of indistinguishable junk.

Tom hadn't turned to face him. Harry stood just behind him, wondering whether or not he should get the mans attention.

"Is there something you wanted?" The Dark Lord's voice was calm, calmer than Harry thought would be possible after such a huge mood swing.

"I- um. Are you, are you okay?" Harry's voice sounded weak even to his own ears. The Dark Lord turned to face him then, his eyes wild.

"Of course. What would give you the impression that I wasn't okay?" His words were perfectly controlled, completely opposite to the fury in his eyes.

"Just maybe the way you stormed off and ruined half of your house," Harry muttered.

"Are you going to answer the question?" Tom asked, almost sounding polite.

"I don't know what you meant by the question." The Boy Who Lived felt stupid, like he was ten years old all over again.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. What are you trying to do here?" The Dark Lord was moving towards him then, and Harry backed up towards the door, only to find that it was closed. He didn't remember closing it.

He knew that he had to answer this question, and answer it properly. Otherwise, the frail and dysfunctional relationship that they had formed would turn to dust in his hands. He wasn't sure how he knew this, he could just feel it.

But for the life of him, he couldn't think of an answer. What was he doing here, truly?

"I- I don't know," Harry answered lamely.

Tom had come so close by this point that he was within arms reach.

"Of course you don't know. You know nothing. You go through life on a whim and it makes me sick." He barely heard Tom, he was speaking so quietly.

"I know that it isn't wrong." Harry said in a whisper, feeling cowed and somehow defeated. Like he lost a game he didn't even know he was playing.

"This is what I want. I don't know why, and I barely know how it happened, but I know it isn't wrong." He repeated. His voice grew stronger as he spoke, and Tom watched him, his arms crossed.

"What is it exactly you're talking about, Potter? Say it out loud."

"This," Harry gestured to the space between them.

"This crazy, nonsensical, touchy feely insanity. That's what I'm talking about. It's not wrong. It's what I want, and I don't know why." Harry took a tentative step forward, and Tom uncrossed his arms.

The two of them were nearly nose to nose, and Tom seemed torn between fury and lust.

"It's what you want, is it?" The Dark Lord asked in a whisper.

Harry's stomach squirmed as Tom's breath ghosted his face, and he nodded sharply.

"Hmm," Tom pressed him against the door, wedging his knee between Harry's legs.

"If you're sure,"

Before the Boy Who Lived could even say, 'wait, what?' Tom's mouth was on his, more forcefully than it ever had been.

Harry got the feeling that this was it. There was no getting out of it, or portkeying away this time.

And he was terrified. He pulled back from Tom's mouth, and the Dark Lord watched him, looking slightly amused.

"Wait, wait. If- um, if we're going to do what I think we are, I, erm. I think you should know that I haven't, you know. Done it before."

"I guessed as much, from all the abrupt portkeying that you do."

Harry squirmed, still pinned to the door.

"Er, yeah. I'm just, this is. Kinda, um, scary." The Boy Who Lived felt stupid, with the way that he couldn't form a complete sentence. He half expected Tom to laugh and scold him for it.

"Relax, Harry. We aren't doing anything right now that we haven't before." Tom's hand came up from Harry's hip, trailing fire up his side, until it reached his neck.

"I know. Its just, I know what's going to happen,"

The Dark Lord was watching his mouth, and he trailed a finger along Harry's lips.

"Stop talking." He muttered, and pressed his mouth to Harry's once more.

* * *

><p>Harry stood, with no shirt on, in front of the Dark Lord.<p>

No matter what he did, no matter what Tom did, the nerves coiled in his stomach would not relent, so much so that Harry was shaking from the force of his anxiety. Tom had stopped when he noticed that the Boy Who Lived was trembling like a leaf.

Harry could see the disappointment in his eyes, but as usual, Tom didn't try to force it on him.

The one thing that made Harry angry, was the fact that he wanted to do this. He wanted Tom on top of him, screaming his name.

But as soon as the Dark Lord's hands found their way to Harry's pants, he would hyperventilate. He literally could not breathe.

"I'm sorry," Harry panted.

The Dark Lord nodded stiffly, and the Boy Who Lived suppressed a sigh.

How long, exactly, until Tom got fed up with this? Until he went elsewhere to fulfil his needs?

Harry's gut clenched at the thought of someone else in Tom's arms, and he decided that it wasn't going to happen. Not if he could help it. He needed to get over it. And fast.

At that point in time, Tom stood an arms length away from Harry. The Boy Who Lived took a step forward.

The Dark Lord eyed him warily.

"I don't think I can touch you right now, not unless you've changed your mind. I wont be able to control myself."

Harry said nothing, and took another step forward.

"Harry, I'm serious," Tom warned again, and his eyes widened when Harry put his finger on the Dark Lord's lips.

"Stop talking," Harry reached his arms up and around Tom's neck, and gently brought their lips together.

Harry had not initiated a kiss since the night he broke the vow, because he was simply to nervous. That night, he had been the perfect mix of excited and anxious, and he simply hadn't been thinking clearly. Now though, he knew with perfect clarity what he was doing, and what would happen because of it.

Tom groaned quietly, and pulled Harry into him by his hips.

The nerves still gnawed in the Boy Who Lived's gut, but he felt slightly better being the one doing the kissing.

He threaded his hands in Tom's hair, and pulled gently.

He felt fingers trailing up his bare chest and shivered. His mind was chanting, _this is it, _over and over, and he had to force himself to breathe.

_Don't chicken out now, _

He forced his hands downwards, and he felt Tom shiver as his hands brushed the mans neck. He pushed the Dark Lord's outer cloak off, and started on the buttons of his shirt.

_This is it._

Harry pulled the shirt off, and broke the kiss so he could look down. He sucked in a breath, realizing that, once again, he had not been breathing.

Tom's chest was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His skin was pale, and Harry decided that he liked it that way. There was a light dusting of hair below his belly button, and his stomach was perfectly toned. His pants hung low on his waist, and Harry decided he wanted to find out what Tom felt like.

He looked up at the Dark Lord, seemingly only just realizing that he was there.

Tom was smirking at him.

"What? I can't look?" Harry's voice was rough, and it came out barely above a whisper.

"Oh, go ahead and look. But lets not forget that I'm getting impatient here."

Harry grinned and took a step forward.

His fingers trailed down Tom's chest, and he marveled at how soft his skin was. He pressed himself up against the older man, his palms flat on Tom's chest. The smirk had not gone from the mans face, and he seemed to enjoy Harry's uncertainty.

The Boy Who Lived pressed his lips to Tom's once more. This time, Harry trailed his tongue along the older mans lips, asking permission to deepen the kiss.

_This is it._

Tom obliged, and Harry tentatively explored his mouth. He had never really been the one to take control. He simply allowed the Dark Lord to take the lead. Then he panicked when it got to much.

This time though, he wasn't going to leave. He was going to do this.

As the kiss got deeper, Tom lowered Harry to the ground and straddled his hips.

The fear was back, as strong as it was before. Stronger even. Harry drew a shaky breath as Tom broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes.

"Last call, Harry." Tom's hands rested on the buttons of Harry's pants, poised to undo them.

Part of Harry panicked once more, and he almost took the out.

_No, this is it. _His brain told him, and he agreed. This was it, and he was going to do this.

He took another deep breath.

"No, I want this."

The change in the Dark Lord's eyes was instant. He stripped Harry of his pants in two seconds flat.

Obviously, he had been holding himself back, not fully believing that Harry had changed his mind.

The Boy Who Lived lay naked below the Dark Lord, and Harry's blush was so strong that it made its way halfway down his chest.

_This is it, this is it, this is it, this is it,_

Tom trailed his fingers all the way down Harry's torso, and when they reached his naked hips, his body jerked involuntarily.

"Relax," Tom whispered, his voice gentle.

Harry felt his legs being propped up, and he sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. How did this work? What was going to happen now? Would it hurt?

Fingers traced his legs from ankle to hip, and he let out a small moan. His body was so alert that even small touches made him squirm.

He couldn't help but feel embarrassed by his nakedness, and he wondered whether or not Tom liked what he saw. Though he was entirely to anxious to ask.

Harry's eyes were still squeezed closed, and he was to scared to open them. What if Tom was naked now too? What if he was right above Harry? It was then that Harry realized that Tom hadn't been touching him for a few seconds now, and what was he doing? What if it was about to happen? Right at that second? Harry's breathing sped up, and he was dangerously close to portkeying himself away.

_God damn it, calm down! _Harry forced his eyes open, and stared up at the ceiling, not willing to look at Tom.

_I can't leave again. This is it. _

Once again, Harry felt Tom's hand trail up the back of his leg. If he wasn't so tense, he might have said it felt good.

"Harry, you really need to relax."

The Boy Who Lived didn't look down at the Dark Lord when he spoke, he kept his eyes firmly glued to the roof, which was still sagging.

"You should probably fix the roof," Harry blurted.

"Maybe," Tom said from below him somewhere.

"It might fall on us," The Boy Who Lived added. He heard the Dark Lord sigh, and watched as the entire room righted itself. He still hadn't looked down.

"Calm down, Harry. You're far to tense." Tom was running a hand up and down his side, and still Harry couldn't bring himself to look anywhere but the now repaired roof.

"Yeah. Tell me about it,"

"Listen, I can help you with the nerves. I know a spell that can relax you. It's not usually used for this sort of thing, though."

Harry thought about for only a second before he agreed. He didn't want this nervousness.

"You're sure?" Tom asked, and Harry finally sat up and looked at him.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm sure." He noticed that the Dark Lord wasn't naked, but the top button on his pants was undone. Harry groaned and let his head fall back again. He knew his fear was irrational, Tom had done nothing to make him afraid. In fact, he had been incredibly patient, more so than Harry would have expected.

"_Sedatione_ _requiem_," Tom muttered, and though Harry couldn't see him, he knew that he had cast the spell.

For a moment, Harry felt nothing, and started to panic again.

"I don't feel any different? What if it didn't work? God damn it there's always something bloody wrong with me, I can- hmmm, comfy." Harry suddenly felt like he was floating in the air, like his arms and legs were now made of cotton.

"Feel better?" Tom asked, and the Boy Who Lived heard the smirk in his voice.

"Yeah, much better. I should memorize that spell for when I cant sleep."

Tom crawled up onto Harry, so they were face to face.

"Well don't fall asleep now."

Harry smiled and reached up to pull the Dark Lord closer.

"How long does the spell last?" He asked.

"About an hour." Tom replied, his eyes hooded and his lips smirking.

"That should do," Harry laughed, and pressed his lips to Tom's.

When the Dark Lord's hands made their way down Harry's torso once more, he didn't flinch away.

Instead, his own hands came up to undo the older mans remaining buttons. He felt a slight jump in his stomach as he did so, but it did nothing besides spur him on.

When he had completely undone all of the buttons, he yanked the pants down to Tom's knees without breaking the kiss. Tom let out a growl, and simply vanished his pants completely. Once again, a nervous little twitch started in Harry's stomach, and he couldn't have imagined how terrified he would have been at that moment without the spell.

He decided that he could not have possibly got to that point without help. He would have been well and truly gone.

Tom broke the kiss, and made his way to Harry's neck. That one little spot that made him lose his mind was licked, and he moaned into the Dark Lord's shoulder. Tom then bit down, and Harry yelped, thrusting upwards.

He yelped again when his cock grazed Tom's. Harry spread his legs wider and maneuvered himself so That Tom was entirely between his legs. The Dark Lord relaxed his weight onto him then, and the Boy Who Lived decided he really liked the feel of someone being on top of him.

Tom hadn't left his neck, and Harry thrust upwards again, this time on purpose. He whimpered helplessly, deciding that he needed more than this.

He pushed his hand between their bodies, and Tom lifted himself slightly to allow him access. His fingers slid along the Dark Lord's skin, and he felt him tense under his fingertips.

Tom moved upwards, almost against his will, hoping that Harry's hand would find its way down, lower than it ever had been.

His hand traced his torso, for to long, if you asked Tom, and he shifted up again. If what he wanted wasn't clear before, it was now. Harry smirked and let his hand fall lower, just barely touching the tip of his cock. He drew his hand up higher, and watched Tom frown.

"Harry," The Dark Lord growled in warning.

"Tom," He replied, his voice breathy.

The Dark Lord stiffened, his whole body going rigid, and it took a few seconds before Harry realized what he had just done.

He called Voldemort Tom.

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean-"

The Dark Lord put his hand over Harry's mouth, and smirked slightly.

"Stop talking,"

The Boy Who Lived smiled under Tom's hand. He had gotten away with calling the Dark Lord by his first name.

"Sorry," He said again, and Tom pressed his hand down harder on his mouth.

"What did I just say? From here on out, no talking." The Dark Lord removed his hand and went back to kissing Harry's neck, assuming that the Boy Who Lived was going to shut up.

'_What about in another language?' _

Tom bit down, hard, and thrust himself against Harry, earning a moan from the teen. He dragged his nails down Harry's side, hard enough to make him whimper.

'_Another language is fine, if you can handle what happens afterwards.' _

'_I'm okay with that.'_

Tom smirked. He was hoping Harry would say that.

He yanked the Teens hair back, and kissed him forcefully for no more than a few seconds, before trailing his tongue down the Boy Who Lived's chest. He heard Harry's breath hitch as he got closer to his cock, and he smirked.

Harry wondered if Tom was going to do what he thought he was going to do. And if he did, would Harry have to do it in return? Because he had never done anything like that before. What if he was really bad at it?

'_You're getting tense again. Focus on the spell.' _Tom hissed from just below his belly button.

Harry tried to get a hold of the calm that he had felt earlier, and he wondered why it had faded. The Dark Lord nipped at the skin just inside his leg, and Harry forgot what it was he had been thinking about seconds before.

Tom pushed his legs apart further, and he yelped at the sudden and rough movement.

He looked down to tell Tom that it had hurt, when he stopped dead. Tom's mouth was barely an inch from his cock. He looked up at the Boy Who Lived then, taking the teens member into his hand and smirking up at him.

Harry's mouth floundered in shock. He was really going to do it.

He watched as Tom, slowly and deliberately, licked the tip of his member.

Harry mewled and resisted the urge to throw his head back. He wanted to see this. Tom had one hand on Harry's left leg, keeping it pinned. That didn't stop the Boy Who Lived from wanting to thrust upwards.

He decided that seeing Tom look at him, with his eyes hooded and his mouth smirking, was the most insanely hot thing he had ever seen.

The Dark Lord flicked his tongue out again, and this time, Harry couldn't resist bucking upwards. Tom kept him pinned, and hummed a laugh.

'_You want more, do you?' _

Harry couldn't speak, not even in parseltongue. So he just nodded furiously.

Tom licked his lips, and the Boy Who Lived couldn't believe how turned on he was right then.

The Dark Lord gave him another smirk, and took the tip of Harry's cock into his mouth.

"Oh, oh my god," Harry finally let his head fall back.

'_Please don't stop,' _

Tom started sucking then, and Harry whimpered. He had never felt anything like it before. Even compared to what had happened in the shower, this was, by a mile, the most amazing thing he had ever experienced.

The Dark Lord moaned, vibrating his throat. Harry clawed at the carpet, trying his hardest to not buck up. Tom dug his nails into the teens leg, apparently sensing what he wanted to do, and warning him against it. The pain only made Harry want more, and he squirmed under Toms grip.

Tom moaned again, and Harry whimpered at the feeling. A hand came up and gripped his sack, massaging gently, and the older man picked up the pace, sucking harder.

'_Holy god,' _Harry noticed that his hands had found their way into Tom's hair, and that he was gripping rather tightly.

Tom growled in response, and the Boy Who Lived pulled harder. At the rate he was going, he wasn't going to last much longer.

"Wait, wait. I- I can't, slow, fuck, slow down." A finger trailed along his entrance, and Harry flinched. He had almost forgotten what was actually going to happen.

Tom slowed to a crawl, and Harry closed his eyes, feeling terrified all over again. Why did that keep happening? Wasn't there supposed to be a spell in place? Maybe it had already been an hour?

Before Harry could fully figure out what had happened to the spell, a slick finger slid into him.

He squirmed at the discomfort, and the more he moved, the more it hurt.

'_Relax,' _Tom hissed, bringing the tip of the teens member into his mouth again.

The mixture of pleasure and pain made Harry move faster, half trying to make Tom suck harder, and half trying to get away.

The Dark Lord curled his finger, and Harry abruptly stopped moving. Tom had touched something inside him that made his whole body tingle with pleasure.

'_What was that?'_ Harry panted, and he made the mistake of speaking in parseltongue. Another finger forced it's way in, and Tom bit down lightly on the tip of his member.

"Oh," Harry yelped, and couldn't help but thrust upward. The Dark Lord growled, and he scissored his fingers inside the Boy Who Lived.

Once again, the discomfort out weighed the pleasure.

"Tom, Tom, ow," Harry tried to wriggle out from under him, but Tom pinned him again, and stopped moving.

"You need to relax, it's only going to make it worse. I promise that it wont always feel like that."

Harry did relax slightly, because Tom was never wrong.

Once again, Tom nibbled and sucked on Harry's cock, not moving his fingers at all inside him, trying to get the teen to relax.

Harry wriggled enough under him that he really didn't need to do much to stretch his entrance. He was doing it all himself.

"Harry," Tom said after pulling away.

"Another finger now," The Dark Lord was getting impatient, and having Harry moaning under him like that was doing nothing for his self control.

The Boy Who Lived bit his lip, but nodded.

Tom created more lubricant wandlessly, and inserted a third finger quickly. He didn't move, and allowed Harry to adjust.

"See? Not so bad." The Dark Lord could feel the teen relaxing around his fingers, and knew that it wouldn't be long until Harry could handle being penetrated.

"Ye- yeah," Harry agreed shakily.

Tom scissored his fingers again, and ran his fingers along his prostate when he yelped in pain.

"I don't know if I like that or not," Harry whispered.

"It will get better," The Dark Lord's voice was raspy and he was barely paying attention to what Harry as saying.

He flicked his fingers upwards again, earning a growl from Harry. Tom smirked. It wouldn't be long now.

"It feels really good when- oh, when you do that though,"

"What did I say about talking," The Dark Lord muttered.

'_Not in english,' _Harry hissed, and Tom moaned at the sound of the snake language coming from his lover's mouth.

He bent his fingers one more time, making the Boy Who Lived moan again. He quickly withdrew his fingers then, making the teen whimper at the absence.

Harry's eyes widened when he realized what this meant.

_This is it. _

Tom positioned himself above the Boy Who Lived, his lips were parted, and he looked slightly breathless.

Harry reached up and pulled the older man to him, planting a small kiss on Tom's lips.

"I'm ready," He was careful not to say this in parseltongue, incase Tom lost control. The Dark Lord moved up slightly, so that his almost painfully stiff cock pressed against Harry's entrance.

Harry nodded, trying to pull the Dark Lord into him by his shoulders. He knew it would hurt, but he wanted to please him.

Tom pushed himself forward slowly, gasping at how incredibly tight the Boy Who Lived was. He knew that he was small, he had had his fingers inside him, after all. But he could barely get himself in half an inch before having to stop. If he wasn't careful, he could easily hurt Harry. He didn't want to lose control and scare the teen.

"Tom?" Harry was panting, and the Dark Lord could tell that it was hurting him.

"Shh. No talking, remember." Tom's nails were digging into the plush carpet, and if the Boy Who Lived moved even a centimeter, he was going to lose himself.

'_Unless it's not in english,' _

he locked eyes with Harry, and the Dark Lord glared. The brat knew what he was doing. Tom was biting his lip so hard he tasted blood.

"Don't do that. I- I'm barely controlling myself here."

Harry pushed downward, and Tom slid into him further.

'_Oh, god, you're so fucking tight,' _

The Boy Who Lived grinned at this. Though it was hurting him, he loved to see the Dark Lord with that look on his face.

That 'I wanna fuck you till you can't walk straight,' look.

Harry shifted himself again, and flinched as he took another inch of Tom inside him.

The older man hadn't moved, and he had his eyes glued shut. He flinched every time Harry shifted, even if it was only small.

'_Tom,' _

the Dark Lord's eyes snapped open, and he thrust into Harry, burying himself right to the hilt. The Boy Who Lived cried out in pain, and Tom scolded himself internally. He should have had more control, even if the teen was being infuriatingly beautiful.

He must have had a worried look on his face, because when Harry opened his eyes, he smiled a pained smile.

"It's okay. It was- it was my fault." He panted.

"Are you sure- mmm, are you sure you're okay?" Tom asking, trying to hide a moan as Harry shifted slightly below him.

"Yeah. Keep, going."

The Dark Lord gave a slow, experimental thrust, watching Harry's face as he did so.

Harry whimpered, almost to quietly for him to hear.

Tom reached down between them, and grabbed the younger man's member.

Harry let out another whimper, this time in pleasure.

Tom gave a smaller thrust, and smiled as he got another moan.

_Finally, _Tom thought to himself.

He moved faster, and Harry only gasped minutely.

Harry couldn't decide whether or not he was feeling pleasure or pain. Every time Tom pushed into him, he would press against that spot that made his whole body ache with pleasure, but when he pulled out, he would feel the most uncomfortable pain.

When Tom's hand grabbed hold of his member, he almost sighed in relief.

The faster the Dark Lord's hand moved, the faster he pushed into Harry.

Before the Boy Who Lived even knew what was even happening, the pain was fading, replaced by a burning feeling in his middle. He started to move with Tom, and the Dark Lord growled and grazed his teeth along Harry's shoulder.

"It's," Harry tried to talk, and found that he couldn't even begin to form what he wanted to say.

"Shh," Tom brought his finger to Harry's lips once more, quieting him.

The Dark Lord had long ago removed his hand from Harry's now aching cock, and he brought both of Harry's hands above his head, holding him down.

Tom was thrusting harder and harder, and the chosen one had to spread his legs as far as they would go to accommodate the Dark Lord.

And Harry found that he didn't mind being pinned down. The pain was barely there now, and his head was swimming, his thoughts were completely jumbled. All he could smell was pine and sweat and cinnamon. The burning in his abdomen had become a full blown fire and he could barely contain his moans anymore.

'_Faster_,' Harry hissed, and the Dark Lord had no problem with complying. He bit down hard into Harry's neck, and the Boy Who Lived whimpered pathetically.

'_Gods, but you are beautiful,' _Tom hissed, and Harry had no clue how he could talk in full sentences.

* * *

><p>Harry lay, spent, on the floor. The Dark Lord lay next to him, now fully clothed. The Boy Who Lived didn't bother with dressing himself. Instead, he was falling asleep, completely nude.<p>

"Oh, and Harry?" Tom whispered from somewhere behind Harry.

"Hmm?" The Boy Who Lived replied.

"There was no spell. You were completely calm all on your own,"

Harry knew he was smirking without even opening his eyes.

"You're an asshole," Harry muttered, but he was to tired and too comfortable to be truly angry.

"What, did you think that I would sleep with you while you were under the effects of a spell?"

"Hmm," Harry agreed, falling asleep.

(_A/N sorry about the smut being cut of there a bit, but I felt it was dragging on, and it just wasn't flowing properly. *frowns.* just keep in mind that that is the second time that I've ever written a scene like that. Anyways. My bad if it sucked.) _


	36. Soul meets body

_A/N hi there. First things first. This chapter marks 100k words. WooHoo! Lets all dance and throw confetti. Second things second, I am one review away from 400 as I m writing this. Hurrah! *throws more confetti* I love you all :P)_

Harry stood in front of a door. This door was made entirely of tuna fish.

He knew, deep within himself, that he wouldn t like what he found when he opened it. But he had to. He knew that, as well.

And of course, the tomato plants needed watering.

His hand hesitated on the handle. For to long, apparently, because the fish bit him.

"Wake up, I haven t got all day," The tuna reprimanded him, in a voice that he recognized, but couldn t quite place.

He quickly threw the door open, lest the nasty fish bite him again. Behind it, stood a letter box. The box opened its eyes and glared at him.

"You took to long. You failed the test. I am here to judge you," It's mouth was it's letter slot, and Harry giggled at it.

"You are very rude. For the love of Merlin, get up." It said, and Harry crossed his arms defensively.

"So why are you judging me?" He asked.

"You have already failed the test. You will never know." The letter box leaped forward and shook him by the shoulders, which Harry thought was strange. It didn t have any arms.

It was also completely uncalled for.

"Hey, that was nasty," The Boy Who Lived snapped.

"Wake up, Potter." The letter box growled, and Harry turned away, walking back along the yellow thatched roof. He had had enough of the post box s crap, thank you very much.

All of the sudden, there was an earthquake, and Harry's eyes snapped open.

"Finally," Tom said from beside him.

The Boy Who Lived turned his head to look at the Dark Lord, and hissed in pain. His neck hurt, and it took him a few seconds to figure out why. The bites he had received the night before. Apparently, they had been a lot rougher than Harry remembered. Tom was sitting beside him on the bed, and the Boy Who Lived wondered when he had gotten into it. He was also fully clothed.

For that, he was grateful. If he were still naked and lying on the floor, he would have been incredibly embarrassed.

"Come on, get up. We have a ritual to perform." Tom said, standing.

"What? What ritual?" Harry sat up, and flinched at the pain that was obviously all over him, not just his neck. He sent a glare at the Dark Lord, only to find that he was gone.

The Boy Who Lived got up and poked his head out of the door. He caught a glimpse of Tom s retreating back, and followed as quickly as he could, hating the way he couldn t walk properly.

"What ritual?" Harry asked again when he caught up.

"The horcrux. You re getting it back." Tom replied, and the Boy Who Lived didn't take note of the coldness in the Dark Lord s voice. He was to excited.

"Really? Now?" Harry grinned, but Tom had his back to him. He was walking rather fast, and Harry had to do a weird limping skipping thing to keep up.

"Yes, now." Harry s smile widened so much that his face hurt. _Finally,_ he thought to himself. Not even wondering why it was happening now.

* * *

><p>Harry sat cross legged in a circle of what looked like red sand. In the corner, Peter Pettigrew was bound on the floor.<p>

He was surrounded by candles, and Tom stood across from him outside of the circle. Harry wondered why they were using Wormtail for the ritual, but he didn t mind. In fact, it fit rather well.

"Did you do this ritual with all your other horcuxes?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I m still not sure how you even became one. This is supposed to be mandatory." The Dark Lord replied, not looking Harry in the eye. Instead, he dragged Pettigrew toward the circle by his hair. Peter stared at that Boy Who Lived with a pleading look in his eyes.

Harry just smirked at him.

The Dark Lord held Pettigrew above the circle, so that his head was on the inside of the red sand. Peter squirmed, and Harry snapped at him to keep still. He stopped moving instantly.

Tom took a dagger from somewhere in his cloak, and swiftly stabbed it into Wormtail s neck. Blood poured from the wound, and Harry nearly stood in shock. As it was, he was wriggling away from the red liquid.

"Stop moving. It needs to touch you," The older man snapped, and the Boy Who Lived went rigid.

"Gross," He muttered as the blood came closer.

A few moments later, when Tom was sure Peter was dead, he threw the body aside unceremoniously.

He then put his hand in the pool of blood, careful to keep the rest of himself out of the circle.

The blood reached Harry, and he nodded at Tom, giving him the go ahead.

The Dark Lord started chanting in a language that Harry didn t recognize, and he decided he liked the sound of Tom speaking in another language, even better than he liked Parseltongue.

The blood under Tom s hand started glowing bright red, and the glow slowly started moving towards the Boy Who Lived. The teen grinned. Finally. He was getting what he wanted.

The odd light reached Harry, and he got what felt like a kick in the ribs. His eyes slammed shut, and he flinched. Before he could say anything about it though, he heard someone screaming like they were being murdered. The sound overtook every part of him, and he couldn t hear or feel anything else.

The Boy Who Lived tried to force his eyes open, but he found that he couldn't.

"What are you doing?" Harry recognized the voice of his horcrux. It was angry, angrier than he had ever heard it. In fact, he wasn t sure if he had ever heard anyone sound that furious.

_What do you mean, what am I doing_? Harry reached out with his magic, and tried to pull the horcrux into himself.

"Stop! Stop pulling and listen!"

The Boy Who Lived did as he was told, but that didn t stop him from wondering what the hell was going on.

"You can be mind numbingly stupid, sometimes. Voldemort didn t just remove pieces of his soul, he removed pieces of himself that he though were weak." Harry could feel Tom forcing the horcrux from the other end, and the magic was becoming more frantic.

_What does that even mean?_

"It means that he is missing a fair few base emotions. And what does that mean? Harry could now feel the Dark Lord s frustration through the newly forming link.  
><span>It means that I am his ability to care about someone. To love. To feel concern. And he's trying to get rid of that, again. You cant let him do that, Harry."<span>

It took the Chosen One a few seconds to process that, and when he did, he kicked his legs out. He felt them connect with Tom, and heard the man gasp in surprise. He then opened his eyes and threw his arm out, breaking the circle of sand.

He felt the horcrux leave his mind, and grinned triumphantly. He noticed that he was laying on the ground now, and he didn't recall falling.

The smile feel right off his face when he heard the Dark Lord roar in anger.

"What is wrong with you!"

Harry sat up to look at Tom, only to be tackled back onto the ground, his head bouncing on the stone floor.

He blinked back stars and tried to push the Dark Lord off of him, to no avail.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" Harry s speech was slurred, and he wondered whether or not he had a concussion.

"What are you afraid of, Tom?" He asked, blinking hard again.

"Don't call me that," The Dark Lord growled in warning.

"You let me call you that last night," Harry reminded him.

"The horcrux told me what you were trying to do." He added quickly, before Tom could say anything in return.

"Why?" The teen asked.

Tom had Harry pinned to the ground by the arms, and his grip tightened painfully before relaxing.

"Because you make me weak. You know more and see more than anyone else, and trust is never a good thing." To the Dark Lord's surprise, Harry started laughing.

"I make you weak? What kind of bullshit is that, Tom? Together, we're in-fucking-destructible. I'm some sort of super necromancer, and you're the darkest wizard of our time. I don t see how you got 'weak' from that combination." The Boy Who Lived said between fits of laughter.

"I'm serious, Potter. You're getting this horcrux back, whether you like it or not."

Harry laughed again, and brought his face closer to the Dark Lord's.

"No I m not," He whispered.

"And you know it. Are you afraid?" The teen asked.

When Tom didn t answer, Harry asked another question.

"Do you trust me?" Tom looked into Harry's eyes for the longest moment, before nodding minutely.

"Then leave your soul where it is."

_(A/N little short, but ya ll got 7k of smut yesterday, so there. :P 400th reviewer gets a parade. And a scratch and sniff sticker. BTW, uploaded with wordpad because every other program I use for writing was being damn strange. So sorry for any mistakes that you found, because I'm sure there are some.)_


	37. Death eater kids

(_A/N phew. Busy week. Bleh. Anyway, new chapter! Oh, and a parade and scratch and sniff sticker for She-who-waits-in-darkness, for being the 400__th__ reviewer. Yay! Also, GinHanelle, I love you. That is all.)_

"It's been more than twenty four hours since I left the school," Harry said. He was sitting on the floor, and Tom was sitting on his usual chair in his office. The Boy Who Lived had his head resting on the Dark Lord's leg, and he looked up at Tom, wondering what his reaction would be.

"I know," Was all he said. He turned the page of what ever book it was that he was reading, and Harry sighed.

"You know that that means that I cant use the timeturner, right?"

"Yes I know. But it's no longer of any concern." Tom said.

"Why is that? People are gonna know something is up." Harry leaned back, resting his head on Tom's thigh once more.

"Of course they are. I imagine that right now, everyone is going wild with speculation. In fact, I'm sure that a fair few of your school mates now know where your allegiance lies."

"And that doesn't matter to you anymore?" The Boy Who Lived pressed.

"No, it's time that they all knew. Besides, it will be excelent for recruiting new death eaters. At this point, we are just about in control of the ministry. With your support, more people will join us. Who would want to fight against something so unstoppable? The order has fallen, Dumbledore is dead, and the ministry is poised to crumble. The resistance will be miniscule at best." Tom explained, and Harry had to admit he had a good point.

If everyone knew that the Chosen One had left them, they would likely follow him.

"I suppose." Harry said, though he wasn't fully convinced.

"What do I do when I get back there? And are you totally sure that this should happen now?"

"Do whatever you like. It doesn't really matter. And yes. It's time. You need to take control of the situation before they decide to oppose you." The Dark Lord ran a hand through Harry's hair lazily.

"So, what, just walk to the front of the Great Hall and proclaim that I am now a death eater?" He asked, perplexed.

"That could work. I'm sure that a large portion of the Slytherin's will stand with you. And a fair few of your fellow Gryffindor's will follow you. And you're a death eater, now, are you?" Harry ignored the last statement.

"And you're sure about this?" The teen asked again.

"For the third time, Potter. Yes. Are _you_ sure about this?"

The Boy Who Lived shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"I guess so. If you are. You're the brains behind the operation. If you say it's time, then it's time, isn't it?"

Harry could practically see the smirk on Tom's face, though he was facing the desk.

"Well I suppose it's time you went and faced the music, then." The Dark Lord pushed at Harry's head slightly, making him stand.

"Rude, much?" Harry glared, but Tom just smirked and gestured for him to leave.

"And don't forget to use that chain if anything goes wrong." He said, before Harry activated the portkey.

* * *

><p>Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table, feeling more nervous than he ever remembered feeling. The death eaters at the staff table glared down at him, and almost every single student in the hall were looking at him with suspicion.<p>

Ginny had told him after he got back, that everyone had heard a rumor that he had joined the Dark Lord.

He didn't tell her what he had planned.

He had just nodded when she told him this, and she had become rather wary. And true to Ginny Weasley fashion, she had not stopped bugging him about it.

He had gone straight to bed when he arrived back at the castle, planning to wait until dinner the next night to make his announcement.

Ginny had woken him up by smacking him in the head with a book, yelling about being irresponsible.

It had taken half an hour to calm her down enough to explain that this was Voldemort's plan.

It was now dinner, and Harry was having second thoughts. What if he could try and explain it away? Tell them all it was just some big misunderstanding.

He glanced around at the suspicious faces, and decided that, no, this was the time. They weren't going to fall for another cover up. Not after some of them had heard about the raid.

And surely now, they all knew about that too.

Harry's legs shook as he stood up. He pulled his wand discreetly from his robes, and made his way to the front of the hall.

_No chickening out now,_ He thought to himself as he reached the front and faced the school as a whole.

His eyes fell on Ginny first. He noted that she looked worried, and seemed to want to stand to join him.

The rest of the students, besides Slytherin, looked a combination between confused and curious.

The Slytherin's looked excited.

Harry stood, blankly, for to long.

_What the hell do I say?_ He wondered. He decided, first things first. He drew his wand fully, and cast a complex locking charm on the doors. He didn't want anyone running, and alerting the authorities. What little authority there was left, anyway.

A fair few of the students faces went from curious to wary in seconds, but this action only served to excite the green clad students further.

Draco even made a small whooping noise. Harry frowned at him in warning.

He put his wand to his throat, careful to avoid the chain the Dark Lord had given him, and cast the sonorus charm, making his voice loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"Hi there!" Harry waved happily at the hall, and a few people seemed to relax at the sound of the cheeriness in his voice, and he decided that this was the best tactic.

"So, I've been hearing these rumors about me. And I thought I would clear them up for you." The Boy Who Lived smiled widely, and almost everyone in the hall smiled back. The Slytherin's more so than anyone else.

"Just so we're all clear, the rumor says that I've gone and joined Voldemort." Harry only saw three people who looked shocked by this statement, and they were all first year Gryffindor's.

"The rumor is true," The Boy Who Lived said calmly, and everyone stared blankly for a moment, processing what he had just said. Then a huge amount of people stood abruptly. A few people tried the door, though everyone had seen him lock it.

"Sit down!"

Harry spun at the sound of the voice, and was surprised to see Snape standing up and looking irritated.

"Yeah, what he said." Some people sat down, but the rest just stood in silence. He was happy with that.

"Come on, what the hell, huh? I mean, you all have no problem with being taught by death eaters, but as soon as I decide that fighting this is a lost cause, you all freak out?"

He didn't receive an answer, but a few Slytherin's started clapping.

"The reason I'm standing up here, is to see whether or not any of you are worth keeping." Instantly, almost every Slytherin in the room stood and came to stand in front of Harry.

Only six remained at the table, unsure of themselves.

Ginny came next, and stood directly beside the Chosen One.

She gave him a small smile, and Harry returned it. A few of the Gryffindor's looked shocked by this. The Boy Who Lived almost rolled his eyes at this, because honestly, how could they think that Ginny wouldn't join him?

The small red head coming to stand at his side seemed to make a fair few people wobble on their feet, as if they couldn't decide what they wanted to do.

Luna came next, standing at his opposite side.

"Hello, Harry." Her voice was it's usual wispy self, and Harry wondered if she even knew what she was doing.

She made a 'come here' motion with her hand to someone in the crowd, and the Boy Who Lived watched with fascination as Neville pushed his way through the people, coming to stand in front of the dreamy blonde girl.

"Luna, what are you doing?" He asked, looking hurt.

The rest of the school seemed to think that now was the time to move, and as Tom predicted, a little more than half of his housemates came to stand before him.

"I'm doing what's right. I was hoping that you would come with me."

Harry had never seen so much emotion on the blonde girls face. She looked incredibly disappointed by Neville's reluctance.

"Luna," Harry interrupted, taking his wand from his neck.

"Ages ago, in the room of requirement, when you said that you had gained an interest in Herbology, What did you mean?"

More and more students began whispering among themselves, and more and more were coming to stand with the rest of the students who had decided that Harry was their best hope at survival.

"I meant that someone showed me the magic that plants have," She never took her eyes of Neville as she spoke, and Harry hoped that he would come to his senses. It was obvious that she felt something for the young man.

"Luna, this is wrong. You have to know that," Neville pressed, and Luna shook her head, looking sad.

"No, it's not wrong. In fact, this is the only way. Trust me, please." She reached her hand out to Neville, and he looked between it and her face for a long time, and Harry grew worried that he wasn't going to take it.

Just as she let her hand drop, Neville grabbed it, and gave a tentative smile.

"I trust you,"

She smiled wide, and pulled the Gryffindor towards her, so that he stood beside her.

Harry looked out at the rest of the hall, almost three quarters of the students now stood in front of him. The rest of them stood by the door, obviously having chosen to shun the Boy Who Lived.

All in all, Tom was going to be pleased with the numbers. Though most of them were much to young to bear the mark, they would still be useful, especially in convincing their parents that this was the right thing to do.

The only thing to do, if they wanted to live.

"Well, I'll tell you the truth, this is better than I expected." Harry said, putting his wand to his neck once more.

Some of the Slytherin's laughed, and the rest of his new followers looked uncertain.

"This is your last chance to change your mind. After this, there's no going back," He was talking to everyone in the hall not just the ones standing by the door. When no one moved, Harry grinned.

"Alright then. Fantastic." The Chosen One said this just as he heard a scuffle behind him, and he spun to see Snape being tackled to the ground, while the rest of the staff table stood, their wands all pointed at Harry.

The teen still had his wand to his neck, and all he had to do was slide it down an inch, so that it came in contact with the chain.

He knew straight away that this confrontation was going to get out of hand.

He heard someone cast a binding spell on Snape, and he frowned, pointing his wand at the death eaters.

"This has gone on long enough!" Dolohov yelled, and Harry smirked at him.

"What's gone on long enough, Professor?"

"You do not deserve to stand at the Dark Lord's side! You have done nothing to earn it! What makes you think that you are worthy of anything more than death?" The potions professor spat, and the Boy Who Lived was feeling rather angry at that statement.

"Oh, fuck you, ugly. Honestly. I've done more for him than you ever could. What makes _you _think you're worthy of anything more than death?" Harry spat back, baring his teeth.

The rest of the death eaters stood, stoic, with their wands still aimed on him. This could get bad, quickly.

"I am a loyal servant to my lord! How dare you imply otherwise! I should just kill you now, you disgusting brat,"

"You can go ahead and give it a shot, but I can tell you now that it's only going to piss me off." Harry growled. He couldn't wait for Tom to arrive.

Couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces as he came to stand beside Harry.

He looked over his shoulder quickly, and saw that most of the students had taken a few steps back. But all of the Slytherin's had their wands pointed at the death eaters. They obviously knew the consequences of messing with the Boy Who Lived.

Ginny, Neville and Luna also had their wands out, and Harry grinned.

"Looks like you're outnumbered." Harry pointed out, and Dolohov snorted.

"There's no way that a bunch of pathetic school students could overpower us."

Harry noticed a slight change in the way Rockwood, who was standing to the left of Dolohov, was holding his wand. It was now pointed at Ginny.

"Let's see how you fare without your beloved little girlfriend. Avada kedavra!" The green light shot from Rockwood's wand, and Harry didn't even hesitate before jumping in front of it.

The curse hit him just as he heard the Great Hall's entrance doors explode open, and he recalled that he should have unlocked it for Tom.

Then everything went black, for what felt like hours. Harry knew that he wouldn't be there for very long, not in real time. He would appear to have been gone for a few seconds, at best. He could only hope that the death eaters didn't start throwing curses all over the place. Though surely they had heard Tom enter.

Assuming it was the Dark Lord who had blown the door apart.

Harry tried a few times to talk to Death, but apparently, he wasn't in the mood to chat.

When he finally felt the pull in his middle, he internally celebrated. There was nothing more boring than sitting in the dark, especially when you knew there was something better to do.

He opened his eyes, and glanced upwards at the staff table. Ginny was a little to his left, shaking Harry by the shoulders.

"Ginny, stop it," He whispered. And she stared at him in shock.

"I remember you telling me that you were immune to death, but I was worried it was just a one time thing." She whispered back, and Harry smiled at her.

"Is Tom here? And I've died twice before, remember? When I was one."

"Yeah, he's heading this way now. And he looks totally furious."

Harry grinned, and stood slowly.

The death eaters eyes all snapped to him, and he shrugged his shoulders at them.

"Told you it would just piss me off, Avada Kedavra." Harry aimed his wand at Rockwood, and before the man could even blink in response, the mad was hit in the face by a jet of green light.

"Idiot," The Boy Who Lived snarled.

He then turned to face the Dark Lord, and saw that the students had given him a very wide berth. He also noticed that Eris was with Voldemort. He made a beeline for Ginny, and pulled her roughly into his arms.

He then looked at Harry over the top of the small girl's head, and nodded.

"No problem," Harry responded, knowing that Eris was trying to thank him for saving the youngest Weasley's life.

Harry watched as the students who had decided to forsake him scurried out of the hall. The Slytherin's fell to their knees in submission, and the rest of the students slowly followed suit, though they appeared unsure. And the Boy Who Lived felt an odd sort of pride.

Ginny didn't kneel, because Eris still had not let her go, but Luna and Neville bowed, though Neville was much more reluctant.

Harry didn't bow. He wanted to show the death eaters that he could get away with it, because he was just that bad ass.

When Voldemort reached them, using his intimidating snake like form that Harry had almost forgotten, he came to stand beside Harry, just as he hoped he would.

'_You took the word's right out of my mouth,' _The Dark Lord hissed, and the Boy Who Lived looked at him in confusion.

'_what words?'_ He hissed in reply.

'_Avada kedavra.' _Voldemort glanced at Harry side ways, and the Chosen One grinned.

'_No one will ever harm you again, I will make sure of it.'_ The Dark Lord had his usual scowl in place, but his eyes were more sincere than the teen had ever seen them.

Harry had to fight the ridiculous urge to yell, "Voldy! You're such a sweetheart!" And jump on him.

But he assumed that that would have been inappropriate.

Instead, he went for;

"Thank you,"

The Dark Lord ignored him, and turned his attention back to the death eaters, who had all bowed low.

_I bet they're all bloody shitting themselves, _Harry thought gleefully.

"How dare you pull a wand on your fellow man?" The Dark Lord growled, his voice barely above a whisper.

"How dare you pull a wand on _him_?" He added, gesturing to Harry.

"Give me one good reason why I should not kill you all where you stand." Voldemort had his teeth bared, and Harry had a feeling that no matter what they said, they were going to die today.

Snape chose that moment to wake up, and he looked monumentally confused for a second, before his eyes landed on the Dark Lord. He then bowed low, when he stood, he gave Harry a look that was almost apologetic. It was all Harry could do to not look shocked. Instead, he nodded minutely.

"My lord, we didn't know," Was Thorfinn Rowle's, the history teachers, fantastic reply.

"Avada kedavra." The Dark Lord grinned a nasty grin as the killing curse burst out of his wand.

"Don't even think about telling me you didn't know," Voldemort spat, as Rowle's body hit the floor.

Apparently, no one else had a good answer, because within the hour, they had all fallen dead.

Severus Snape looked especially nervous when the Dark Lord turned to him.

Harry grabbed onto Voldemort's arm, and whispered in his ear.

'_This wasn't his fault,' _

The teen felt the tiny shiver that ran through the Dark Lord, but he didn't see it.

"Oh, right. Sorry. No whispery parseltongue. Got it."

'_At least not in public,' _Voldemort smirked.

Harry blushed and ducked his head, hoping that no one saw the blazing red of his cheeks.

"Jager, come. We are leaving." Voldemort said suddenly, gesturing at Eris.

Harry knew that the Dark Lord also expected him to go, so he told Ginny that she was coming too. Eris didn't seem to have a problem with the arrangement, and Harry knew it wouldn't be good for Ginny to stay at the school. Not if her parents were likely to collect her.

Harry wondered what was going to happen to the school now that the teachers were all dead, but he was sure Tom would figure something out.

The Dark Lord grabbed hold of Harry's upper arm, and the raven haired teen prepared himself for the apparation.

"I'll see you all later! Don't forget to tell your friends and family how awesome I am!" Harry yelled out to the hall. Everyone was still in shock, and Harry couldn't blame them. He just hoped that they didn't change their mind.

(_A/N lets play a game. Quickly! You're a murder weapon! What are you, where are you hiding, and who were you used to kill? Leave your interesting or creative responses in the comment section below. :D) _


	38. Death threats, death threats everywhere

_(A/N yes, yes I was channeling Ray William Johnson. ***High five to those who caught it* **He's amazing, amirite? ***sigh*** And Kyron Raven, That is just freaking fantastic. Lol. And everyone hates Dumbledore! Go figure.)_

"How did this come to be, mister Potter? Something monumental must have happened for you to betray your friends."

"Betray is a pretty harsh word, don't you think? Besides, all the friends I have left have joined me. I didn't betray anyone." _That you know of. _Harry added mentally.

The scratching of a quill followed his words, and he shifted uncomfortably at the sound. But Tom said it was a good way to get publicity. So here he was, getting an interview with Rita Skeeter.

"But you have killed someone, correct? One week ago today, you killed a professor. You know that that is a life term in Azkaban, don't you?" She looked over her ridiculous glasses and raised her eyebrows at him.

"Hey, he fired first. I was defending myself." Harry amended, crossing his arms defensively.

"I'm not sure that the Auror's would agree with you there,"

Harry glared at her.

"What are you gonna do about it? Arrest me?" Hellion raised his head in warning, hearing the anger in the Boy Who Lived's voice.

'_Relax. I doubt she's gonna try anything. Not here, anyway. She's just in the habit of causing trouble.' _Harry said all this while smirking at the reporter, and she shifted as if she wanted to get up and run.

"You can relax, too. Just get on with the interview, would you? And stop with the questions that I cant answer."

"Well the people have a right to know. It's my job to tell them like it is." Rita huffed.

"Don't give me that bullshit. And if you do this wrong, trust me, you wont be telling anyone anything ever again." Harry leaned forward as he spoke, a smirk firmly in place.

"Besides. Look where you are. That should be a good hint as to what's on the line here for you." The Boy Who Lived gestured around himself.

They were situated in the Dark Lord's manor. Tom had suggested that they send the reporter a portkey, and have it go off as soon as she touched it.

Harry had asked if this was his favorite kidnapping tactic.

"Fine. Fine," Rita said, fiddling with her quick notes quill, as if she were adjusting it.

"Alright then. Tell me, what is your position here?"

Harry smiled at the safer question, and nodded slightly in approval.

"I suppose that you could say I'm the Dark Lord's right hand."

"And what does that entail?"

Harry shrugged. "Whatever he needs me to do, I do. That's how it works."

"And what have you done for him so far?"

The Boy Who Lived glared and shook his head a fraction.

"Sorry, sorry. Habit. Well how about you tell me about your relationship with You-Know-Who?"

Harry snorted.

"You can say his name. You're in his house, after all." As the teen said this, Nagini slithered in through the slightly ajar door. She pushed herself up onto the couch that Harry and Hellion were occupying.

Harry knew why she was there. Tom was using her to supervise.

'_Hey Nagini. Hello Tom.' _He greeted, and the snake gave a nod in return.

'_Has she said anything out of turn?'_ The snake asked.

"Nah, nothing to severe." Harry said in English, then looked back at the reporter.

"Is, is that his snake?" The woman's hand shook slightly.

"Yeah, she's called Nagini. Don't worry, you're all good, unless you say something that makes her angry."

"They can understand English?" Rita asked, almost looking interested. But mostly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, they can." Harry said in a tone that obviously told the reporter to move on.

"Okay then. Where were we?" She still seemed flustered, and she kept looking between Harry and the snakes.

Nagini hadn't taken her eyes off of the woman.

"Ah, that's right. We were talking about your relationship with- with the Dark Lord."

Harry's cheeks went red, and he glanced sideways at Tom's snake, who let out a hissy giggle.

"Is that a blush, Mister Potter? Whatever could be causing you to go red?" Rita leaned forward, looking rather fascinated.

"None of your business, surely." Harry mumbled, his head ducked.

'_It's up to you whether she writes about it or not.' _Nagini hissed.

'_What, about mine and Tom's, um, thing? I don't think I'm ready for the whole world to know.' _

"Mister Potter? Am I to believe what I think I'm seeing here?" Harry's head snapped up, and he gave her a frightful glare.

"Sure, why not? The Dark Lord and I fuck each other. Senseless. All the time. But so help me god, if I ever read anything about it that I or Voldemort haven't approved, I'll tear you limb from limb, myself. Understand?" He snapped, and Rita's face went white.

"You mean to say that, that you and he, are, I mean. Wow."

"Did you just hear what I said?" Harry pressed, and she nodded dumbly.

"Of course. I understand perfectly."

The Boy Who Lived crossed his arms, and no matter what he did, he couldn't stop glaring. "I think this interview is over."

Rita looked disappointed, but stood up anyway.

"Alright then. You'll be seeing the interview in the prophet the day after tomorrow." She bowed and walked out of the room briskly, and Harry felt himself spitefully hoping that she got lost and eaten on the way out.

The Boy Who Lived made his way through the manor, heading for Tom's study. He had used a spare sitting room for the interview, the one furthest from where the Dark Lord would be.

Ginny and Eris were somewhere in the manor as well, and the youngest Weasley had been reported missing. Apparently, being told, point blank, by many people, that Ginny had joined the Dark Lord was not enough for Molly Weasley to believe it.

The red headed Gryffindor was worried for her families safety, but Tom had told Harry that he wouldn't harm them, unless they got in the way.

The Chosen One wasn't so sure that they would leave well enough alone, since Ginny had practically moved in with them.

Hogwarts was empty for the time being.

Tom and Snape gad deemed it best to give the students an impromptu holiday, seeing as the school no longer had any teachers.

The Dark Lord was doing an excelent job of rehiring, though, and Snape said the school would be ready to reopen in a few days.

Harry had to wonder how many students would be coming back.

Even if they had pledged themselves to him, he imagined that a fair few parents wouldn't be happy with the idea of sending their children back to Hogwarts.

It didn't really matter though. If they were serious in their support of the Boy Who Lived, and the Dark Lord by proxy, then it wouldn't matter where they were. They would come.

Though it would make keeping the school open hard.

Tom had suggested getting a couple hundred transfers from Durmstrang, just to keep Hogwarts afloat.

Harry had to admit it was a good idea.

The Chosen One pushed the door open to the Dark Lord's study, leaving the door open slightly for the snakes, when and if they decided to enter.

"That went well." Tom deadpanned.

"Tell me about it. I swear, she better keep herself in check."

"Well, if she doesn't I'm sure that she knows what will happen. You made it pretty clear." Tom made a come here motion with his hand, and Harry came forward, sighing.

"Now I'm bloody worried. That didn't go to plan at all. Who knew she was so perceptive?" The Boy Who Lived said as he reached the Dark Lord.

Tom reached out and pulled Harry onto his lap with no warning.

"Don't worry. Even if she does write something about it, it's really not going to affect anything. And honestly, you could just call bullshit. Everyone second guesses that woman."

Harry shifted, so that he was properly straddling the Dark Lord.

"Then why did you pick her to do the interview?" He wondered out loud.

"Because she has no moral code." Tom laughed as he said it, and pulled Harry's face closer to his.

"It sure as hell wasn't because of her journalism skill." The Dark Lord mumbled.

"Hmm," Harry agreed, before pressing his lips to Tom's.

OoOoO

"Holy shit fuck!" Harry yelped, standing.

"Tom! Tom where the hell are you?"

Ginny and Eris looked up from their place on the couch in the far corner. The pair had been reading a necromancy book together, and the small red head jumped at the abrupt sound of Harry's anger.

"Harry?" She called.

She was in the same room as him, but she couldn't see him through the shelf of books in the centre.

"What happened?"

"Mother fucking Rita Skeeter happened. That bitch is dead."

Ginny knew that when Harry started swearing, it was likely serious.

"What did she do? Didn't you have an interview with her a few days ago? What did she write?" Ginny got up from the loveseat, untangling herself from Eris.

She rounded the shelves, and there, she saw a fuming Harry Potter.

"Look at this," He gestured wildly in the general direction of the table he had been sitting at.

There sat the Daily Prophet. And in giant bold letters, on the front page, it read;

_**The Boy Who Lived; The Dark Lord's lover?**_

"Holy crap," Ginny breathed, and Eris rounded the corner then.

The small red head scooped up the paper and pressed it to her chest as Eris tried to catch a glimpse of it.

"Don't even worry about it Gin. Not like he's not going to see it eventually." Harry sighed.

Ginny looked wary, but placed it back on the table anyway. This was when she saw the picture that went with the headline.

"Oh my god, have you seen the picture?"

Under the bold writing, was a moving picture of Harry straddling Tom. Harry had watched the picture for a few moments, but luckily, the Dark Lord's true face didn't appear. All anyone could see was the back of the Boy Who Lived, making out with someone furiously, and Tom's hands threading themselves through his hair.

"Yeah. I've seen it." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

Eris then picked up the newspaper, and began reading it, out loud.

"The Boy Who Lived, Gay? You read that right, Dear readers. Harry Potter, once a hero, has now fallen further than any of us could have imagined." Eris paused, and shot Harry a smirk as he did so.

The teen made a face and sat down. The youngest Weasley followed suit.

"I had an interview with the Chosen one, and he had the gall to threaten my well being. Of course, as you know, Dear readers, no one threatens me and gets away with it. The interview began on an ordinary note, if you count being kidnapped as ordinary. I was sent a portkey, that automatically went of the second I touched it. Imagine my surprise when I found my self in You-Know-Who's own home." Another smirk from the older necromancer.

"The interview itself is as follows;

Rita Skeeter: So I've been brought here, against my will, I might add, to give you an interview, am I correct?

Harry Potter: Yeah sounds about right. Just gotta clear one thing up first. Anything gets in the paper that I don't want in it, and you'll know about it. Including that part. Edit it out.

RS: Of course, Mister Potter. So then. What is it you would like to talk about?

HP: This whole joining the Dark Lord thing, obviously. We didn't bring you here to talk about the weather.

RS: We?

HP: Me and Voldemort. Who else would I be talking about? This is his house, after all.

RS: Ah, of course. Lets move on shall we? How about you tell me about what happened at the school.

HP: Skip.

RS: Alright, then. So, How did this come to be, mister Potter? Something monumental must have happened for you to betray your friends.

HP: Betray. That's a pretty strong word. But I suppose I did, really, didn't I? Though I never really cared for them much to begin with. I was just doing what I was told.

RS: Yes, I think that you did. And last week, you killed someone, didn't you? You know that the unforgivables earn you a lifetime imprisonment?

HP: I don't feel guilty about that at all. Besides, I'm not going anywhere.

RS: What makes you so sure? What about the Aurors? I'm certain that they would have something to say about all this.

HP: What are you going to do about it? Arrest me?

(At this point, a rather large and terrifying snake rears its head, preparing to strike. The Boy Who Lived then converses with it for a few seconds, before turning back to me.)

HP: Just get on with the interview. And stop with the questions that paint me in a bad light.

RS: Well the people have a right to know. It's my job to tell them like it is.

HP: Don't give me that bullshit. And if you do this wrong, trust me, you wont be telling anyone anything ever again. Besides. Look where you are. That should be a good hint as to what's on the line here for you. (The teen then gestures around himself, referring to You-Know-Who's manor.)

RS: Alright then. Tell me, what is your position here?

HP: I suppose you could say I'm the Dark Lord's right hand.

RS: And what does that entail?

HP: Whatever he needs me to do, I do it. Anything he wants me to do. Anything.

RS: And what have you done for him so far?

(The boy proceeds to shake his head in warning, and another snake enters the room. The thing was beastly, and I had reason to believe that it was You-Know-Who's own familiar. The Boy Who Lived then proceeds to speak in his eerie Parseltongue once more.)

RS: Is that his snake?

HP: Yes, she's called Nagini.

RS: Can they understand English?

HP: Yeah, they can. (His tone is annoyed, and he was obviously frustrated by the topic, so I move on.)

RS: Okay then. Where were we? Ah, that's right. We were talking about your relationship with You-Know-Who. (The teen procedes to blush fiercely. I, at that point, had no idea as to why he was going red.)

RS: Is that a blush, Mister Potter? Whatever could be causing you to go red?

HP: None of your business, surely.

(He then talks to the snake once more. And I decide to try and bluff information out of the boy.)

RS: Mister Potter? Am I to believe what I think I'm seeing here?

HP: Sure, why not? The Dark Lord and I fuck each other. Senseless. All the time. But so help me god, if I ever read anything about it that I or Voldemort haven't approved, I'll tear you limb from limb, myself. Understand?

(At this point, Dear readers, I was flabbergasted. And as you can quite plainly see, I am risking my life to bring you this news.)

HP: Did you hear what I just said? I'll fucking slaughter you.

RS: Of course. I understand perfectly.

HP: I think this interview is over." Eris then proceeded to laugh like a hyena.

"Haha! Well aren't you a little bad ass. Threatening murder all over the place!"

Harry had never seen the man look so cheerful.

"I didn't bloody say half those things." The teen mumbled.

"I need to show this to Tom." Harry scooped the paper up, and he didn't miss the grin on the older necromancer's face when he said the Dark Lord's true name.


	39. Insolent Housewife

_(A/N So, hi there. I broke my finger. Brilliant, aren't I? Also, I've been having an awful week/s. So this chapter could be a bit, erm, angry. Possibly. Sorry for the slow update.)_

_The Daily Prophet gives its sincere apologies to _

_anyone that may have been offended by our last _

_front page article. The use of a muggle swear word_

_was unintentional. Once again, we are deeply sorry_

_for this mistake._

Harry snorted rather loudly at this. He had, all things considered, been rather proud of himself for getting the word 'fuck' in the newspaper. Someone had obviously gone and spoiled his fun. For the past week, every wizarding publication in existence had published a story on 'The Boy Who Fell,' as he had now been dubbed.

And they all had different views on the situation. Many of them had pretty much wet their pants. Saying things like, 'are we doomed now?' But so far, no one had fought back. The Boy Who Lived couldn't help but get a little cocky, though it had only been a week.

'_Idiots,' _Harry hissed, the two snakes beside him raising their heads. The Fertura snakes were almost identical in size, Hellion being only a few inches smaller than Nagini.

Neither of the snakes seemed to want to comment, and Harry sighed and glanced out the window. The grounds were immaculate, as one would expect from Tom Riddle. He noticed a hedge maze in the distance, barely visible. It was while he was staring disinterestedly at the green hedges that he realized he had no idea where he was.

He was in the Dark Lord's manor, sure, but where was it? He frowned and looked over at Nagini once more.

'_Nagini, where are we?' _The massive snake raised her head and stared at the Boy Who Lived for a moment.

'_I'm not certain. But I believe that we may be in France. Master does not tend to tell anyone of his location. His Death Eaters don't even truly know.' _

Harry made a 'hmm' noise, low in his throat, but made no further comment.

He had not seen much of Tom in the last few days, and was wondering what exactly the Dark Lord was up to.

It most likely had something to do with the Ministry, and Harry was slightly offended that he was not involved. He had spent almost all his time here after his unfortunate interview with Rita Skeeter, not feeling very up to going back to Hogwarts. Not that it truly mattered, since the school had very few students and even less teachers.

As Harry had suspected, many of the students had been removed from Hogwarts after his announcement.

Only twelve Slytherin's had been removed, but that was to be expected. Much to his disappointment, though, Neville had been removed almost instantly. He had received an owl from his fellow Gryffindor, saying that he was gone from the school, but not to worry, he was still on Harry's side, however reluctantly.

All in all, the school's populace was dwindling to the point where Harry was unsure if they could even keep it open.

Harry only hoped that Tom came through with his idea to transfer students from other schools.

The Boy Who Lived shifted from his window seat, feeling rather antsy. He had been waiting for close to a week for Tom to return, planning on jumping the man the second he saw him. Well, maybe not quite the very second, since Harry wanted to talk to the Dark Lord about what they were going to do with Rita Skeeter.

He had not been able to talk to Tom yet about Rita. The man seemed almost unwilling to speak about it.

When Harry had shown him the newspaper, Tom had merely laughed and sent the Boy Who Lived straight back out, claiming he was busy.

The Dark Lord had then vanished, and had not returned.

Harry shifted again, feeling increasingly pissy about Tom's abrupt and unexplained departure. He hoped that the man hadn't decided to take care of the nosy reporter himself, because Harry sorely wanted to kill her himself.

'_Do you have any idea where he went?' _He asked, and if Nagini had shoulders, she would have shrugged.

_'He didn't tell you?' _Harry pressed.

_'No, he did not. But surely he will not be away for too much longer.' _The snake didn't even lift her head as she spoke, and the Boy Who Lived got the impression that she was annoyed with all the talking.

Harry stood up then, feeling frustrated and antsy, but not knowing what to do with himself.

He wandered out into the hallway, and nearly slammed into Eris.

"Woah," Harry yelped, before the Necromancer automatically shoved him backwards.

The Chosen One landed on his arse and glared at the man.

"Sorry," Eris said, not sounding it.

"Ginny wanted me to find you."

"Why," Harry bit out, standing and rubbing his behind.

Eris just shrugged and turned tail, not bothering to say anything else.

"Well where is she?" The sore teen barked in the direction of the retreating jackass, only to get another shrug.

"Well fuck you too." Harry mumbled and followed well behind Eris.

Though Harry had told Eris that he had no intention of doing anything at all with Ginny, the Necromancer's attitude had only slightly improved. He no longer glared death at the Boy Who Lived, but he didn't go out of his way to make nice, either.

Harry frowned at the other mans back, who was now a fair way away from the Chosen One. Harry increased his pace, only to find that Eris increased his.

"I'm not going to chase you around the manor, if that's what you want,"

Eris gave no response, and Harry glowered harder, hoping to burn a hole in his stupid bigoted head.

In the end, the necromancer had walked right past the room that held the youngest Weasley, and if she had not called out to him, Harry would have just continued to follow Eris.

"Your boyfriend is a dick." He stated without preamble, and Ginny just smiled.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering how you were doing?" The accusation in her words was clear, and Harry hung his head.

He had been exceptionally moody after the world had found out what he was really doing with the Dark Lord, and he was fuming about it, even a week later. He was angry, and slightly embarrassed. As a result, he had withdrawn from Ginny. He felt awful about it. He had only ever really seen the girl when they sat down to meals together, and even then, Harry remained silent.

He had to admit, Ginny had been great about it. She hadn't sought him out, or forced him to talk about it. Which was unusual for her.

And now, she had obviously lost her patience.

"I'm 'kay," Harry mumbled unconvincingly, still standing in the doorway.

"Really?"

"No I'm freakin' angry and I want Tom to get back so I can get him to let me slaughter that horrid bitch and make her scream like, like, like someone who's in pain!" Harry finished lamely, then laughed at how ridiculous that sounded.

"That was lame." Ginny stated the obvious, and the Boy Who Lived let out another snort of laughter.

"I'm sure it would have sounded better if I rehearsed it first. But I'm seriously going to make her pay."

Ginny frowned at this, but said nothing about her obvious disapproval.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" She asked, referring to Tom.

Harry sat down then, across from Ginny in a plush armchair. It amazed him that there were more sitting rooms in the manor than there were bedrooms.

"No. And it's god damn frustrating. He didn't even tell me he was leaving." Harry pouted and folded his arms.

"Screw him." He added for emphasis. Ginny laughed, though she was obviously trying to keep it in.

"Hey, how would you feel if Eris ran off without warning?" Harry snapped, and she sobered instantly.

"Sorry, it must be hard." She was sincere, and Harry's mild anger fizzled out.

"I don't even know if he's alright." His tone was much more serious, and Ginny leaned forward in her seat.

"He can't die, Harry, you know that."

The Boy Who Lived nodded, though still feeling unconvinced, despite the Prophesy.

"He could have been captured," Harry said, though it sounded weak.

"I doubt it. He probably had something to do and didn't think to tell you. I somehow think he's not used to telling anyone where he's going and when he'll be back."

Harry nodded at the wisdom in her words, but now that he had put the thought in his head that Tom might be in danger, he couldn't get the image out of his mind.

* * *

><p>Another week passed, and Harry found himself becoming increasingly furious with the Dark Lord.<p>

With each day that went by, his worry increased, and he blamed Tom for it completely. Why couldn't he have just told Harry he was leaving? Told him when he was going to be back? If he had just done that, then Harry's worry wouldn't have been anywhere near as severe.

He sat picking at his food, alone, as he had been for the last three days, because Ginny had had enough of his foul mood.

He hadn't heard from or seen any of the Death Eaters, and he couldn't decide whether or not if that was reassuring.

If they hadn't shown up, then that must mean everything was fine. On the other hand, maybe they thought everything was fine, just as Harry had done, to begin with. But it really wasn't.

Harry was jolted out of his musings by the loud popping sound of apparation, and couldn't help but be amazed by the timing.

When three more pops followed the first, Harry got nervous and drew the Elder Wand. The wand itself still felt perfect in his hand, and his magic was increased by it, but not quite as much as he had been expecting. Maybe he had set his standards too high.

Another pop, and Harry frowned in confusion. Why were there so many people popping into the mansion? Was it an ambush?

He debated going to find Ginny and Eris, only to decide against it, seeing as he had no idea where exactly they were.

Another pop, and Harry made his way to the source of the sound.

Six people, he decided. And if he included the possibility of side apparation, the numbers were much more than he could handle on his own.

Regardless, he continued to follow the sound, and two more pops, followed by a delayed third, made him breathe harder.

He heard whispered voices as he got closer to the source, and the Boy Who Lived strained himself, hoping to hear Tom's voice.

They were to quiet though, and Harry couldn't put a face to any of the voices.

They seemed to be waiting for something, and that made Harry nervous. How many more people could there be?

Another two pops almost made him reconsider his decision to not find Ginny.

Though he was aware that he wasn't about to die in battle, they could certainly stun him and cart him of somewhere for god knows what.

Possibly mind numbing boredom, if his first kidnapping experience was anything to go by. He pressed his ear to the door, and realized that this was the entrance hall door. One of the many at least.

The popping was now continuous, and he could hear nothing else over the din.

He waited for a solid three minutes, until the noise died down. He didn't know exactly what he was going to do now.

Was he just going to barge in and announce himself? That would be a stupid thing to do, surely. He waited, his ear still pressed to the door, confused and annoyed. The whispering was still too quiet, and he frowned.

Another minute dragged by, and the door suddenly opened from under him, and he fell into the room unceremoniously.

He scrambled to his feet, his wand tight in his hand.

He had to admit that he had never been happier to see Severus Snape.

"What _are_ you doing?" Snape's annoying drawl asked, and Harry flushed and brushed his robes off, scanning the room as he did so. Roughly fifty Death Eaters stood staring at him, completely unmoving.

"Err, nothin'. Yourself?" Harry's sarcasm was automatic when it came to Snape.

The greasy haired man made a disgusted face and ignored Harry's question.

"Where is the Dark Lord?" Harry blinked at Snape's question, not knowing exactly what he meant.

"What do you mean?" He continued to blink owlishly.

"We have a meeting scheduled. Now where is he?" The Boy Who Lived noticed that his now Headmaster was being much more curt than usual. Then Harry realized why. This was the first time he had come face to face with another person besides Ginny, Eris and Tom after the article had been published.

He had to resist the urge to hang his head in shame.

Then he registered what it was exactly that Snape had said.

They had a meeting scheduled.

And Tom wasn't here.

Why wasn't he here?

All that could come out of Harry's mouth at that point was an unintelligent; "Err."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Harry, at that moment, was acutely aware of the Death Eaters around him. And if they decided he was an easy target, then there was no Voldemort to protect him.

"He didn't tell you?" Harry asked, trying to think quick. If the Dark Lord was indeed missing,

then it would have been a bad idea to let the Death Eater's know this.

A lot of them would likely see it as an opportunity to take the title for themselves.

"Tell me what?" Snape drawled, impatient.

"He's busy. I'm certain he told you that this meeting was canceled." Harry knew that Severus was unlikely to believe it, but the other Death Eaters might.

On the outside, the Chosen One was doing his best to appear calm. On the inside, he was becoming increasingly worried.

"I doubt that," Snape said simply, and Harry flinched slightly. He wanted to get this over and done with, and find Tom.

"I don't," He replied, just as simply.

"And what exactly is it that he's busy with?" Someone else in the crowd asked. Harry wasn't sure who.

"How should I know? He just said it was important and he wasn't to be disturbed."

It was Lucius Malfoy that finally picked up the hint.

"You heard him. Meeting's canceled. Clear out."

The sound of angry grumbling and ear splitting pops filled his ears, until it was only Lucius and Snape standing before him.

The elder Malfoy took of his mask like it was necessary for Harry to tell who he was.

This made the Boy Who Lived wonder why Snape wasn't wearing one.

"What is it really that the Dark Lord is doing?" Severus asked, and Harry looked at him with worry written all over his face.

"I don't know. He's missing."


	40. No Jesus Christ

(_A/N (__**MASSIVE IMPORTANT THINGO THAT YOU MUST READ. LT IS MOVING TO ADULTFANFICTION DOT COM, UNDER THE SAME NAME. HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE :) )**__**grins cheekily. **__So, it's been a month. My bad. Also, this one's for you, Tuckey. For knowing what this story is about and braving it anyway. :P Haha. Can't tell whether you're insane or brilliant. Moving on. yay! New chapter. Enjoy. And Riddle Wraith, You're adorable and yes LT will marry you. _**Also, **_**what's your favorite word? Mine's Katopaplop. Pronounced car-top-ah-plop. Not sure if that's how you spell it but I think its a pastry. Also also, if you like, listen to no Jesus Christ by Seether for this chapter. I know I did. Repeatedly.**__)_

A man and a woman sat in front of a fire, talking in hushed whispers. The man, short and pudgy without a lot of hair, was nervous, but the woman, small in size with insane hair and a grin cold enough to freeze you in place, seemed triumphant.

"This is insane, and yer know it. I can't believe yer talked me into this." The slightly balding man said, hanging his head and rubbing his face furiously with both hands.

"Oh, but darling, it's going so well. So far, nothing has gone wrong. What is it that's making you so nervous?" The woman asked, grinning widely, though the situation hardly called for mirth.

"Well it's one thing ter consider it, even ter begin to put it into action, but another entirely ter actually do it. Yer know what will happen if he finds us."

The woman snorted, then began to laugh uproariously.

"Who? Harry Potter? That stupid child knows nothing of our world. He won't find us, I can guarantee it. He's an arrogant toddler, at best. he's not a threat."

The man made a hmm noise, but sounded unconvinced.

"Burley," The woman said, warning in her tone. She only used the pudgy man's last name when she was truly becoming frustrated with his behavior.

And Burley only truly feared two people.

The Dark Lord Voldemort, and Bellatrix Lestrange.

Some days, he couldn't decide who it was that he feared most.

"I'm sorry, Bella." Burley looked up at the woman, trying to remain calm.

"You're very welcome." She replied, and the short fat man didn't bother trying to figure out what she meant.

Bellatrix had long ago lost her remaining sanity.

And since Harry Potter had publicly sided with the Dark Lord, she was more unstable than ever. And so here he was, sitting with a deranged psycho, to afraid to leave, almost to afraid to stay.

Deep down, he knew that this was not going to end well for him.

But for the life of him, he couldn't think of a solution. Well, there was one thing, but that was crazy, wasn't it? Entirely insane. So that left him with nothing to do and no where to go.

He was going to die. He knew that much. He also knew, that despite Bella's reassurances, Harry Potter was going to find them. And kill them. And if it wasn't the Boy Who Lived, then it would be someone else.

One did not simply kidnap the Dark Lord and get away with it.

Harry sighed and slumped forward, hitting his face on the desk in front of him. It was the Dark Lord's desk, funnily enough. He had been 'advised' that it would be prudent for him to take Tom's place in his absence.

The Boy Who Lived had no idea how hard it was to be a Dark Lord.

He felt a small pang of guilt at remembering himself ranting at Voldemort, telling the man that he was nothing and all he did was sit there. Harry had to admit that sitting here and listening to stupid problems and planning attacks and simply trying to keep the Death Eaters in line, was god damn hard. And it had only been a week and a half. Not to mention the fact that Harry simply refused to let the Death Eaters know that the Dark Lord was missing, this made it worse.

The Boy Who Lived fiddled with the Elder Wand under the desk. The wand still felt perfect in his hand, though there was only a barely noticeable increase in his skills.

Maybe he simply couldn't get any better, he thought to himself, almost laughing at the thought.

Wouldn't that be funny.

Harry had been becoming increasingly frustrated with this situation, and above all else, he missed Tom.

It was like a gnawing hole in is gut, not unlike what he had felt when he refused to feed the horcrux.

Only ten times worse.

There was something else gnawing in his gut along with it. Though no matter how he tried to put his finger on it, it eluded him completely.

"Potter? Are you even listening?"

Harry's head snapped up at the sound of Snape's voice, and he grimaced.

"I wouldn't really call it not listening. More like blatantly ignoring." Harry snapped.

He'd had enough of the greasy man's 'tutelage', as Snape called it.

Harry didn't want to learn anything from the man in school. Why would he start now?

Lucius, who was also sitting across from Harry, had to stifle a snigger. Which made the Boy Who Lived want to laugh.

The elder Malfoy was hardly one to laugh at one of Harry's jokes, but there it was.

"Do you want the Dark Lord to succeed or not, Potter? Because as it stands you're doing a miserable job of keeping things running." Severus snapped.

"Maybe because it's a miserable job." Harry mumbled, then, louder;

"Of course I want him to succeed, what kind of bullshit question is that, Snape? Why the hell would I even be here if I didn't want him to win? I'd still be at Hogwart's with bloody Dumbledore, wouldn't I? Jesus."

"Prove it," Snape had a stupid superior look on his face, and Harry stood abruptly, knocking the heavy chair over backwards in the process.

"One word, _One word, _from me, and you get your head ripped of your body. Have more respect." Harry snapped, and stormed from the room before Snape could do more than blink.

"Where are you going?" Lucius asked over his shoulder.

"To find him," He called back. It was really that simple. He was going to find out who took Tom, then slaughter them mercilessly.

Though so far, he had been having no luck. He had been thinking about the possibility that Rita Skeeter might be involved, but she had vanished from the face of the earth.

Harry had to consider, now, that maybe it was someone closer to he and Tom than he originally thought.

It could easily be a Death Eater.

In fact, the more he thought about it, the more likely it sounded.

The Death Eaters had more contact with the Dark Lord than anyone else.

Harry had stopped dead in the corridor, and at this point he turned back the way he came. He had an idea.

He had been staring at the same four walls for what felt like more than a month. Though he had no real way of knowing how long it had been.

The four walls that bound him seemed to constantly attract moisture. They dripped incessantly and it was almost enough to make him lose his mind.

Not that he could really lose much. He couldn't do any damage at all to anything regardless of whether or not he lost his mind.

He had discovered quickly, (two and a half seconds, to be precise,) that the walls around him were enchanted.

He couldn't use magic here.

The door to this dreary little chamber, as he had dubbed it, was a metal atrocity. The only opening was big enough to shove scraps through.

This made him furious. He was not a dog. He did not eat scraps. So he did not eat the scraps. Instead, he simply did not eat. When he got out of here, his captor was going to have a rude shock on her hands.

And he did know it was a she.

He had been here long enough to figure out who his captor was.

She had taken care to hide her identity, going as far as knocking him unconscious in his own home, before he had time to even turn around. which shamed him no end.

He was supposed to be the Dark Lord.

Dark Lord's certainly did not get kidnapped from their own homes.

If he had not been so distracted at the time, he simply would have spun on his heel and cursed the wench blind.

But obviously, that had not happened.

Instead, he was locked in a stinking pit in Merlin knows where.

With his only hope being Harry, he sighed and leaned back on the dripping wall, long ago having stopped caring about the neatness of his robes.

Though he was quite fond of Potter, _for more reasons than one, _he added to himself, smirking, he didn't put much faith in the fact that he would be rescued by the boy wonder anytime soon.

Harry had a way of getting himself into trouble.

No matter what the situation was.

"Are you certain about this? You were lucky to have gotten away with it in the first place." Lucius asked.

"Don't be daft." Harry snapped, becoming increasingly irritated as time went on.

"They won't even know I'm there. You just need to act as if the Dark Lord asked you to take over the next meeting, and that he's in Albania or some shit and is not to be disturbed." Harry continued.

"Why Albania?" The blonde asked. The Boy Who Lived gave him a withering look.

"Right. Well I'll spread the word. Might I ask how you're going to be there without them noticing?"

Harry gave another withering look, raising his eyebrow.

"Just wait till I give you a signal. Once I figure out who it is, which I will, if it's a Death Eater, I want you to make that particular person stay behind. Keep another few back if need be, we don't want them to become suspicious."

"How will you be giving me a signal?" Lucius asked.

"Holy Jesus shit would you quit with the questions and have a little god damn faith?" Harry growled.

"Of course. My apologies." Lucius gave a stiff bow and left Harry alone.

'_Hellion,' _The Boy Who Lived hissed, and his Fetura snake raised it's head.

'_I'll be needing to enter your mind. Then I want you to go into the main entrance and hide in one of the grates.' _

The snake nodded the affirmative, and Harry entered it's mind, looking away from Hellion's eyes, still not used to seeing double.

Harry watched the snake leave, and then turned to Nagini.

'_Nagini, dear, would you do me the honor of bestowing a favor on me?' _

If the snake had an eyebrow to raise, she would have done so.

'_There is no reason for sarcasm.' _

Harry smirked.

'_I was being totally serious.' _

She looked unconvinced, but nodded anyway.

'_What is it that you want?' _She asked.

'_I want you to go to the entrance hall as well, and get as far away from Hellion as you can while still being in earshot. If you see anything fishy, let him know, and I'll know too.' _

'_That sounds easy enough.' _And with that she slithered out too.

Harry had assumed that when Malfoy had said he sent word, he would be immediately calling the other Death Eaters to a meeting. _He better be, _Harry thought, resting his face in his hands.

The gnawing desperation to have Tom back was now increasing rapidly, and he really, really, really wanted to tear someone apart. Preferably the someone that stole his Tom.

He watched through Hellion's eyes, closing his own so that he didn't have to focus on two different images, and waited. He planned on using Hellion as a sort of conduit for his parsel legilimency. Through the snake he would enter each Death Eater's mind. Tom had told him that this was entirely possible, and even rather easy. Of course, when ever a Dark Lord/Genius tells you that something is easy, it usually isn't.

He was nervous about this, because he had never used his and the Fertura Snake's bond for such a thing. If he were honest, he had done hardly more than view the world through his snakes eyes.

He had a feeling that if Tom knew about how lax he had been with developing his skills lately, he would be in a lot of trouble.

Harry balled his hands into fists when he reminded himself of the fact that Tom wasn't here to chastise him.

Finally, nearly an hour and two restless snakes later, the meeting began.

Harry heard the weirdly distorted pops through Hellions ears, and smelt the Death Eaters through the snakes nose.

He smelt fear and something else that he could only discern as insanity. It was metallic and thick, and simply smelling it made his own mind tilt and twirl about in his skull like a cracked butterfly.

He had never heard that snakes could smell craziness, Though not many people would be able to find out that kind of information.

Regardless, There was likely to be a few arse backwards people serving the Dark Lord. No wonder the smell was so thick it was making _him _go slightly of the rails.

"You've been called here because the Dark Lord is rather busy. He is currently in Albania and is not to be-"

Harry tuned Lucius out, and set to watching the other Death Eaters. He doubted that any of them would suddenly shout that they had kidnapped the Dark Lord, but if any one of them even took a dubious looking step to the right, they would become Harry's prime suspect.

"Where's that Potter brat?" A tall and lanky Death Eater interrupted Lucius.

Harry took this as evidence that the man was holding Tom in a cellar.

He took over his snakes mind instantly, pushing Hellion's consciousness into the background and attempted to enter the tall man's mind.

It was harder than entering someone's mind as he usually did, because it felt entirely different. Much more primitive.

Though, as Tom had said, it was entirely possible, and Harry managed with out to much trouble or time wasted.

The thoughts were different too. Harry got no images as he usually did, which made him frown. It would make it much harder to figure out where exactly Tom was being held.

To add onto that annoyance, the thoughts were echo ridden and hard to concentrate on. None the less, he picked up the gist of it.

_That stupid brat gets whatever he wants. Bloody fighting against the Dark Lord for years and all of the sudden he's welcomed with open arms? More than welcomed, if the daily prophet is anything to go by, _

Harry detected a fair share of resentment in the man's thoughts, but also something that seemed a lot like jealousy.

_The amount of times I offer myself, and he picks that brat. _

_What? _Harry wondered dumbly. _The amount of times he offered himself what? _

Then the penny dropped and he felt his real mouth fall open in shock, back in Tom's study.

_He totally want's to bang Tom! _His mind supplied helpfully.

This little bit of information made Harry sure that this tall and lanky man was the one holding Tom captive. Then another thought dawned on him.

"Holy crap, what if he's raping him?" His own mind was slowly slipping out of Hellion's, mostly from the shock that someone else wanted in on his territory.

"What if who is raping who?"

Harry heard the drawling voice and his own eyes snapped open, his mind completely back in it's own skull.

"Pardon?" The Boy Who Lived asked, his face a mask of innocence.

"Why are you sitting there day dreaming about people being raped?" Snape asked. Harry raised an eyebrow, but didn't answer.

"What are you doing here? There's a meeting going on, you know. You _are _a Death Eater. And right now, I'm your Dark Lord. So I repeat. What are _you_ doing in _here_?" Harry snapped.

"Well, I would be down there, but, alas, there is something you need to know." Severus growled sarcastically.

"And what would that be." Harry deadpanned.

"I don't know." Snape replied in the same tone.

The Boy Who Lived raised an eyebrow, then the other. He then rolled his eyes theatrically.

"Well then how the hell would you know that there is something that I need to know?" Harry asked after a moment of silence.

"Because someone told me that there was something you needed to know." Snape answered, the slightest smirk on his lips.

"Wouldn't it be so funny if I killed you where you stood?" Harry asked pleasantly.

"I would enjoy seeing you try," Snape's hand rested over his right robe pocket, and Harry imagined that that was where the greasy man kept his wand.

"Oh, I'd succeed. See, I've learned a lot about myself recently. And one of those things makes me pretty much unbeatable." The mini Dark Lord grinned widely and leaned back in his seat.

"Besides," Harry began, examining his finger nails.

"Wouldn't you think that the Dark Lord would be a bit pissed that you attacked his-" Harry gave pause for effect, then raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, smiling sweetly all the while.

"Lover?" He finished, purring the word like a demented cat.

Snape flinched visibly at the word, then gave Harry his best disgusted look.

"Oh for the love of all that is fucking marvelous would you hurry up and tell me what it is that I'm supposed to know?" Harry snapped, losing all his patience in one fell swoop. He was missing the meeting. And though there would be more opportunities to read the Death Eaters minds, he wanted Tom back as soon as possible.

"It's someone else that thinks you need to know something. Not me." Snape drawled, his face once again a blank mask.

"Well? Who is it?" The Chosen One's hand now held the Elder Wand and was twirling it under the desk. He was ready and very willing to kill the man that stood before him.

"One of the lower ranked Death Eaters."

"Uh huh. And is it me he wants to see, or Voldemort?"

Snape flinched at the word, and Harry thought that that was rather a stupid thing to do.

It wasn't like Tom was about to pop out from behind the curtain at the sound of his name and kill them both.

If that was the case, Harry would have been screaming 'Voldemort' at the top of his lungs a long time ago.

"You. He says he knows where the Dark Lord is being held."

Harry's mouth dropped open and he stood up very quickly. Then he sat down again, rapidly rubbing his face with his hands, the Elder Wand still in one of them.

He was on his feet again before Snape had time to take a breath, his wand pointed directly at the greasy mans head.

"You mean to tell me," Harry began, his voice sickly sweet and barely above a whisper.

"That all this time that you've been fucking around in here," His voice was raising with each word and he could feel his eyes beginning to pop out of his head,

"You've had someone waiting _outside with information on Tom?_" The last few words came out as a feral scream.

"Crucio!" Harry's voice was so loud it hurt his own ears. He watched with grim satisfaction as Snape fell howling to the floor, his back twisting and arching, his arms and legs spasming.

Harry's own breathing was harsh and frantic, and he had to fight the urge to just kill the bastard.

Instead of killing him, he released the curse and kicked the new headmaster sharply in the ribs.

"Don't _ever _pull that shit with me again. I've had enough of your crap and I swear that if it happens one more time, I _will kill you. _Now get up. And go get that Death Eater." Harry snapped, placing another well deserved kick in the mans gut.

Snape stood, clutching his ribs and breathing harshly. He turned to the door, yanked it open and stalked straight out of it. Well, as much as one can stalk with a limp.

He didn't even glance at Harry as he left.

This make the Boy Who Lived grin. Maybe he had broken the greasy ex potions master already.

Though that would be no fun, he wasn't lying when he said that if Snape did or said one more smart arse thing, he would kill him.

He had had enough. And it wouldn't be very hard to find someone else to become Headmaster. Someone who didn't have a problem with being obedient.

Harry paced in front of the door. He was getting anxious and Snape had hardly been gone for thirty seconds.

_What if its a lie? What if this Death Eater really has no idea whats going on and just wants a reward or something? Or worse, what if he's trying to keep me distracted while the real culprit gets away? And then there's the whole matter of what they would- _

The door creaked open and Harry stopped in his tracks, staring hard at the door. Snape came in first, which made the mini Dark Lord angry. Didn't the stupid greasy man know that you walked behind your prisoners if you were leading them into a room with only one exit? This low ranked Death Eater, with possibly precious information on Tom, could simply turn around and walk in the other direction, with out Snape even noticing.

Harry glared at the Headmaster heartily for a few seconds, before the second man entered the room.

The Boy Who Lived recognized him. He was one of the Death Eaters that was in the bar, months ago. This was the one that had asked him why he wasn't a follower of Voldemort. Then proceeded to tell Harry that they could use a guy like him.

Of course, Harry had been in disguise, and this man, Burley, had no idea who he had been talking to at the time.

"I know you," Harry blurted before he could stop himself.

"It's not important how though." He added quickly.

It was then when Harry noticed how nervous the man looked. He looked as if this was his execution. _Maybe it will be. I swear, if one more person pisses me off today someones going to cop it. _Harry thought sullenly. He'd had well and truly enough of this Dark Lord business, and he wanted Tom back.

His stomach gave a nervous jump that almost made him groan. He _really _wanted Tom back.

"So what is it that you know?" Harry asked finally, and Burley shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, erm, first, err, I was wondering if yer could do me a favor."

The miniature Dark Lord's eyebrow came up.

"What would that be." Harry's tone was blank. He had no time for this.

"Well, yer see, the one that's holding the Dark Lord captive, they aint gonna like me telling yer what I'm about ter tell yer." Burley said, his eyes swiveling about all over the place.

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair. At this point, Lucius would be having a hard time keeping the meeting going.

"What would you have me do about that?" Harry asked sweetly, his hand still in his hair.

"Yer, yer could make a vow? Ter protect me?"

The Boy Who Lived actually snorted.

"So let me get this straight. As far as I can figure, the person you're talking about is in the building right now. And you're completely terrified of them. Also. I could simply read your mind to find out what I need to know. Or I could walk on down the hall and read all their minds. As I was trying to do before I was interrupted," Harry shot a look at the ex potions professor, who was still looking pointedly away from the Boy Who Lived.

"But you want me to make an unbreakable vow to protect you?" Harry added.

"The one who has him captive cast a spell on the both of us. It makes it impossible fer our minds ter be read." Burley added quickly, picking up on the fact that Harry was losing his patience.

"Are you fucking kidding me." Harry deadpanned, his face blank.

"It makes the memory of his where abouts simply disappear when someone tries ter read our minds." Burley added, as if it was necessary.

"Fine, fine. Just give me a minute." Harry spat, rather louder than was needed.

The Boy Who Lived tried to pinpoint his snakes consciousness within the manor. He was going to try to slip back into Hellion's mind, to let Lucius know that it was now imperative that he keep the meeting going. If he had even succeeded to keep it up this far.

Harry had never entered his snakes mind from such a far distance, and it was proving difficult to even find him, though Harry knew where the snake should be.

"Damn it," He snapped. This was not going to plan.

"I have to go for a minute. Stay here." Harry ordered. Then, as an afterthought;

"Snape, keep him here."

"Yes, my Lord." Was the reply, but the headmaster didn't look at him as he spoke.

The 'my Lord' was definitely an improvement on 'impudent brat', though.

Harry found himself, a few moments later, in front of the entrance doors.

He had his ear pressed to the door and discovered that yes, Lucius was still talking.

Thank god for Malfoy's.

He was talking about Hogwarts now, and seemed to be mainly speaking to Igor Karkaroff, the Headmaster of Durmstrang.

_Well at least someone's bloody remembered to talk to him, _Harry mused. He had completely forgotten about Tom's plan to integrate Hogwarts and Durmstrang.

Harry cast a notice me not charm on the door and slid it open the tiniest fraction.

No one batted an eyelash.

Harry could see Lucius, who had his back to him.

Which was annoying. He'd never tried to get into someones mind without looking them in the eye.

He could also see the grate that Hellion was supposed to be hiding in, and saw no snake hiding in there.

"God damn it," He whispered, and turned on his heel. He left the door ajar, and wandered back down the hall that he had come from.

There was another door that led to the entrance, one that faced the elder Malfoy.

When he reached it, he didn't cast a notice me not. Instead, he cast a silencing charm. The Death Eaters were facing away from this door, and Lucius was facing it.

He wanted the blonde to notice the door opening, and look him in the eye.

Sure enough, as soon as he took a peek inside the room, Lucius was watching him.

He was still talking, so as not to draw attention, and Harry realized now why this man was Tom's favorite Death Eater.

He was incredibly subtle.

Harry locked eyes with the man, and before he was even fully in the mans mind, he placed a thought there.

_Do not end the meeting. I've nearly got it. Another ten minutes, tops, and I'll know who's responsible. _

Harry then slid the door closed, and all but ran back to Tom's study.

He slammed the door open and fell into the room.

He grabbed Burley's arm, ignoring the fright obvious on the mans face. Snape actually looked at him.

"I, Harry James Potter, hereby swear to protect this man, only from the one he fears. Not from Voldemort or I, and I will not be held responsible for any harm that may come to him while he is not in my presence. I repeat. I will not protect him from anyone but the one who has kidnapped the Dark Lord." Harry stated, and then he added;

"That's all you get. Take it or leave it."

Burley blinked for a moment, then nodded.

"I, Richard Cornelius Burley, hereby complete this vow."

Harry touched the Elder Wand to his wrist, then to Burley's.

"Right. Whowasitandwhereishebeingheld?" Harry blurted.

"Bella. Bellatrix Lestrange." Before Burley could even say where the Dark Lord was being held, Harry was out the door.

In hindsight, Harry would call this the main contender for the stupidest thing he'd ever done.

He had the sense to silence the entrance door once more, and caught Lucius' attention easily.

_Bellatrix. Keep that bitch back, it was her. Also, Eris. I have no problem with him being here for the confrontation. _

The more people that were kept behind, the less suspicious Lestrange would be. Though, at the same time, the more people he kept back, the more people would know that Tom was missing.

So he compromised, and kept back only those that knew. Snape hadn't decided that it might be a good idea to attend, and that made Harry angry. What was Snape doing that was more important than this?

"I believe that covers everything," Lucius began.

"I'll need some of you stay behind, I have jobs for you. Bellatrix and Eris, if you wouldn't mind staying behind?" One affirmative nod and one suspicious half head shake and wobble later, the rest of the Death Eaters popped out.

Harry's hands shook as he waited behind the door. His right hand kept taking his wand out and putting it back, and he finally decided to just keep it out.

_Never underestimate your enemies, _Tom's voice said in his head, and he had to agree.

Harry's wand arm was shaking as he held it through the gap in the door, so ready to attack the crazy bitch.

_As if the first crucio wasn't warning enough. Actually, if I really think about it, it's all her fault this happened. If she had never killed Sirius I wouldn't be in this situation. I would be on the wrong side, sure, but I wouldn't be so damn out of my depth._

_And I wouldn't be feeling this way about Voldemort. _His mind added the last thought in a whoosh, as if it was trying to sneak up on him.

And it succeeded.

_Feeling what way about Tom? _He asked himself, feeling as if he had been kicked in the gut.

He watched Eris dumbly through the gap in the door. The man himself was looking about the room as if trying to figure out who in it was the one who had kidnapped Voldemort.

In truth, Harry had no idea if Eris knew what this meeting was about, because Harry had been running things this way for almost two weeks, and in that time three meetings had been held this way.

But maybe the Necromancer had figured it out. Figured that the person who took Harry's Tom was in the room and he should kill her right now, shouldn't he?

_You love Tom, admit it. _His mind seemed gleeful about this, and Harry felt his face going white.

_No,_ He told himself.

_I cant love him. Even if he was capable of returning it, which he isn't, he's the Dark Lord. And though I might not have a problem with standing at his side, I most definitely have a problem with being in love with him. I mean, I am rather fond of him, but if you spend time enough with anyone you become fond of them. And I hate the thought of him going elsewhere to fulfill his needs, but that's only because-_

Lucius cleared his throat loudly, and Harry glanced up. It seemed the blonde had no idea what he was supposed to be doing next, and Bellatrix seemed to be shifting about nervously.

Harry chose this moment to enter, feeling as if the woman was becoming to suspicious to stick around much longer.

Eris and Lestrange turned to face him. The necromancer seemed confused by his presence, and Bellatrix started to grin widely.

"Well what do we have here?" She cooed, her arms open wide as if to invite him into a hug.

Harry sneered, his wand arm, now at his side, shook with the force of his anger.

"If it isn't the Dark Lord's itty bitty replacement!" She then laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke in existence.

"Replacement? What do you mean by that?" Harry asked, his voice sounding much more controlled than the rest of him felt.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" Her eyes narrowed, and so did Harry's.

He shot another quick glance at Eris, and while his eyes locked with the older mans, he entered his mind.

_She took the Dark Lord, be prepared to grab her. _

Eris had not yet acquired a wand, so he would have to use brute force to restrain her. Lucius already knew that she would likely need to be restrained. Other than that, Harry had to hope that this was enough.

"I mean, dear _Bellatrix, _that I know what you've done." Harry's voice was beginning to show his anger, and it shook dangerously at the end.

The woman's eyes popped comically, and she looked around the room as if someone was going to tell her how exactly Harry knew this.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She spat when no one explained.

"Oh, I think that you do." The Chosen One's voice was dripping with venom as he raised his wand arm.

Eris took a step forward as Bellatrix took a step back, and she had another grin on her face that made Harry nervous.

He saw Lucius draw his wand from the corner of his eye, and he took a step forward, trying to trap her between the three of them.

_She wont be able to apparate away, _Harry thought to himself. _She'll be to slow. One of us will curse her before she manages. _

A smirk found it's way onto the Boy Who Lived's face. _She's not getting away. _

A loud creaking noise drew Harry attention away from the woman for barely a second, and in that time, she had drawn her wand.

Snape had apparently chosen this opportune moment to enter.

Harry eyes had long ago left the Headmaster, though, and now once again rested on Bellatrix.

"Be careful with that, Bella, you might take someones eye out." Harry snarled, preparing to knock her wand flying out of her hand.

But before the curse had even formed on his tongue, Lestrange, quick as a cobra, had snapped both her hands together as if trying to clap, and vanished from sight.

A dumbfounded "What," Fell from Harry's mouth before he could stop it, and Lucius, in that very same instant, sent a disarming spell flying at the spot were Bellatrix had been mere seconds before. Without her standing there to block it, it hit Harry square in the chest.

Harry still had a blank look of shock on his face as he flew backwards and hit the wall.


	41. The aftermath is secondary

(_A/N these chapters are being written back to back, which is unusual and retarded, because I cannot post them. Luckily for you, they're most likely being posted in very quick succession. And the last chapter was a bloody long one. *__**Shrugs* **__I am doing my best to get my internet reconnected, but most likely, I'll be posting this from a friends place. Annnnyyyywwwwaaaayyy, Long and unnecessary author note over. Loooovvveeee yooooohhhhh. And love song by Korn for this chapter. :D)_

Harry was on his feet before he even had time to hit the ground, and spared only a second to shoot Lucius a death glare, before shoving Snape out of the doorway and sprinting through the manor full pelt.

For the second time that night, Harry crashed into Tom's study.

As he had hoped, Burley still stood waiting near the desk.

"Where is she keeping him?" Harry's breathing was harsh from his run, and come out barely louder than a whisper.

"What do yer mean?" The man asked, worry in his eyes as he wrung his hands together.

"Are you fucking deaf? Take me there! Now!" The Boy Who Lived had a hard time shouting in his breathless state, but he managed.

Apparently, raising his voice was the right thing to do, because Burley took a step forward just as Eris crashed into the room.

"What the hell was all that about?" Eris asked as he straightened himself out.

"She took him, I told you that already. You're coming with me," Harry explained in a rush, gesturing for Burley to come closer.

"Where?" Eris became wary and took a half step back.

"To get the Dark Lord, what do you think?" The Chosen One spat sarcastically, fed up with wasting time.

_She could already have taken him somewhere else. _His mind warned, and he grimaced.

"Hurry up!" He snapped.

"I don't have wand." Eris stated, and Harry resisted the urge to strike him.

"Oh for God's sake." Harry barked, and began searching through his pockets. Upon finding what he was looking for, he shoved his old holly wand into Eris' chest.

"You can keep it. Now lets go." He took one of Burley's arms, gesturing for Eris to take the other.

"But, what about Ginny?"

"Eris. Shut. Up. And. Take. The. Mans. Arm." Harry grit out. Eris finally took hold of the fat man, and Burley twisted his upper body, apparating them out of the manor.

Harry found himself on the seaside, which, for some reason, startled him. An odd picture of Bellatrix in a bikini sunbathing popped into his head before he could stop it.

They stood with their backs to the ocean, and before them stood a small house that looked as if it had been abandoned years prior.

Burley made a whimpering noise in his throat and Harry didn't have to turn to know the man was about to apparate away. The Boy Who Lived paid him no mind and burst forward, charging for the door and hearing Eris stumble along behind him in the sand. He heard a 'pop' from behind him and sneered at Burley's cowardice.

Upon reaching the door, he tried to yank it open and found that it was stuck. He took his wand out, not really shocked to discover that is was locked. Skipping beginner spells completely, he raised his wand and shouted;

"Bombarda maxima!" A jet of light surged from his wand and hit the door with a satisfying thud, and a small smile formed on Harry's face, before he realized that nothing had happened.

"Bombarda maxima!" He screamed, the door still not budging.

"Don't just stand there, do something!" He snapped over his shoulder.

"I'm not sure that there's anything you can do. Unless you're skilled in ward removal." Eris replied calmly.

"What?" Harry snarled, turning fully.

"This place is warded. Nothing is going to bust that door open."

Harry stared at him incredulously for a moment, before turning back to the door.

"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" He screamed so loudly it hurt his windpipe, but even when the blinding light hit the door, nothing happened.

"Fuck!" Harry landed a fist on the wood, growling.

"Bellatrix! I know you're in there! Open this fucking door and I might not slaughter you!" He bashed his fist into the door once more, as if to emphasize how much he wasn't about to kill her.

"Open the door!" There was a quiver to his voice that even he had trouble understanding for a moment.

He was going to cry.

This made his anger all the more potent.

"BOMBARDA FUCKING MAXIMA!" He raised his leg and booted the door with all the force he could muster, feeling a snap in his ankle as he did so, though he didn't notice any pain.

"Give HIM BACK!" He was vaguely aware of Eris retreating back toward the water, and felt a stab of anger towards the man.

_How DARE he walk away. _

Before Harry could say anything to the necromancer, he heard a scraping sound from inside.

"Bellatrix! OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR RIGHT THIS SECOND!"

"Please," This plead was barely a whisper and no one could have heard Harry even if they had been standing with their ear against his mouth.

"IF YOU DONT OPEN THIS DOOR I SWEAR I'M GOING TO TEAR YOUR WINDPIPE OUT OF YOUR NECK WITH MY BARE HANDS AND STICK IT UP YOUR-" _Pop._

Someone had apparated. Inside the house. Though whether they were coming or going, he didn't know.

He once again kicked the door, feeling his ankle grind in protest but not paying it any mind. When his foot connected this time, however, the door came of it's hinges and fell inwards with a crash.

This should have made Harry whoop with joy, but something told him the wards had come down, and not because he was being _let_ in.

regardless of this nagging thought, he bolted into the house.

He entered the sitting room first, and saw that a fire had recently died in the fireplace. The next room was the kitchen, that came straight of the sitting room. This room looked entirely uninhabited. No plates or saucepans were visible, and the stove looked as if it held grime from centuries before.

There was only three more doors within the house, and the gnawing fear in Harry's gut grew. If someone had apparated into the house, he would have seen them by now, surely. It sounded as if the pop had come from right inside the door.

Regardless, he left the kitchen and crossed the tiny hallway to a door that was slightly ajar. This was a tiny bathroom, and no one could have possibly been hiding a Dark Lord in there.

The second was a bedroom, and all it held was a single thin mattress, and a grimy blanket to accompany it.

The third door led straight down stairs, and Harry was lucky to have not fallen down them in his haste to find Tom. Though, at that point he held very little hope that he would be finding him here.

He took the steps two at a time until they evened out, stumbling slightly at the unexpected flat ground.

He brought his wand up to his face and muttered;

"Lumos." He was glad he cast the spell, because he was face to face with a monstrous metal door, and he would have likely knocked himself unconscious if he had of taken a step further.

This door was also slightly ajar, and Harry had to push with all his might to get it fully open.

The walls in this room were shining under his wand light, obviously covered in water. It smelt slightly salty and if he had to guess, he'd say that the moisture was ocean water, seeping through the stone.

The room itself was empty, save for a pile of rotten food at his feet. Harry knew without a shadow of a doubt that Tom had been here moments before him.

And now he was gone.

And Harry had no idea where he was, or how to find him.

The Boy Who Lived collapsed to his knees, unaware of the food he had just landed in, and roared.

* * *

><p>The Dark Lord was still leaning against the wall, in the very same position he had been in days prior. He no longer saw the point in moving.<p>

A rather frantic scuffling began outside the metal door, and Voldemort looked up curiously. He noticed that the thin slat in the door was open, and pointed directly at him, was Bellatrix's wand.

_So she's not even bothering with hiding herself now, _He mused. One of her eyes watched him through the slat, along with her wand.

Voldemort merely looked at her, promising with his eyes that when he got a hold of her, it would not be pretty.

"Stupefy," She snapped, and just as the spell hit, she had the door open and was levitating Voldemort up the stairs.

She let him fall to the floor unceremoniously when they reached the sitting room, and the Dark Lord eyed the door.

_All I need to do is fight this curse. Then she's dead and I'm gone._

_Back to Har- _

"Bombarda maxima!"

The Dark Lord's eye's widened. Was that who he thought it was, right outside the door?

He glanced at Bellatrix the best he could without being able to move his head, and noticed that she was stuffing random objects into a sack, as swiftly and silently as she could.

"Don't just stand there, do something!"

It _was_ Harry.

The Dark Lord had a feeling that the Boy Who Lived wasn't going to get through the door, but was strangely flattered by him being there.

And only slightly shocked that Harry had found him at all.

There were muffled voices then, and the Dark Lord recognized Eris' voice.

They seemed to be arguing, and Bellatrix was becoming increasingly agitated.

"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"

The Dark Lord resisted the urge to sigh. Not that he could if he wanted to. Didn't Harry realize that the door was not going to open?

"Fuck!" Voldemort heard the sound of flesh hitting wood and rolled his eyes, glancing again at Bellatrix. She seemed to be trying desperately to get a large box open by the fireplace, without making a sound.

"Bellatrix! I know you're in there! Open this fucking door and I might not slaughter you!" Again, the sound of wood being punched.

"Open the door!" This time, the Dark Lord noticed something about Harry's voice. It was shaking. It seemed Bellatrix noticed this to and spared a moment to turn and smirk at the door.

Harry sounded as if he were about to cry.

For some reason this one fact made all the humor of the situation vanish.

Now Voldemort was angry.

"BOMBARDA FUCKING MAXIMA!" The door shook with the force of what Tom assumed was a kick, and heard a snap that he hoped was not Harry's ankle.

"Give HIM BACK!"

Bellatrix appeared to be giving up on trying to open the box and instead dragged it toward the Dark Lord, which made a rather obvious scraping noise along the half rotted floorboards. The witch made her way to Tom and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, which made the Dark Lord want to spit in anger. When he got out of this, which he would, Tom was going to destroy her. If Harry didn't get there first.

"IF YOU DONT OPEN THIS DOOR I SWEAR I'M GOING TO TEAR YOUR WINDPIPE OUT OF YOUR NECK WITH MY BARE HANDS AND STICK IT UP YOUR-" The Dark Lord felt the unmistakable pull of apparation, along with a sick feeling that didn't have anything at all to do with being pulled through a pipe by his navel.

* * *

><p>Minerva McGonagall sat across from a rag tag group of people, most of them looking as if they would give anything to be somewhere else.<p>

Remus Lupin especially. He wasn't dealing with Nymphadora's death well.

Molly Weasley and her husband looked green in the face, as they so often did. The disappearance of their only daughter had been tough on them, and Minerva did not want to be the one to tell them that she most likely left of her own choice.

The twin Weasley's were also in attendance, much to their parents dismay. But something big was about to happen, and they needed to be informed. The more people they had, the better. Percy had decided he wanted nothing at all to do with the rebuilding of the order of the phoenix, which was another blow to the mother Weasley.

Bill was either ignoring his parents attempts to contact him or was missing.

Rubeus Hagrid most likely looked the cheeriest of the lot, obviously hoping that his optimism would rub off on everyone around him.

Minerva had long since removed Snape from the order, and the few that sat before her now were all that was left of the resistance. Everyone else was either dead or gone.

Today though, she hoped to convince the people around her to agree to something monumental.

* * *

><p>"Where would she have taken him?" Harry repeated for the hundredth time. Ginny Eris and Snape sat before him, and Snape was obviously trying to hide his irritation.<p>

"The better question is how did she escape?" Severus asked.

"How the hell should I know? The only way I can think of is one of those magical magic portkey thingos that the Dark Lord makes. But he's only ever made one." Harry sighed and rubbed his face, then paused.

"Wait," The Boy Who Lived stared at his hands incredulously for a moment before glancing at Snape, his eyes wide.

"What is it?" Ginny asked, her eyes widening along with Harry's though she had no idea what was going on.

"My portkey. It's gone. How the _hell _did I not notice?"

Snape didn't seem to find this surprising.

"Do you take it off at any point?" He asked.

"I take all this jewelery off when I shower. But it's literally right next to me while I'm in there. It would be bloody hard to steal. Unless you were two feet tall."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"I mean I would see the person unless they either crawled into the room or were really damn short. There's a table right next to the shower, beside the door. That's where I put it. The doors are glass, so I would see someone just walk in."

"Your bathroom's obviously different to mine. The doors are all foggy and stuff. You cant see anything through them." Ginny said.

"Yeah well the Dark Lord is paranoid. He likes to be able to see everything all the time." Harry told her, waiting for Snape to come up with some idea about how someone stole his ring from right under his nose.

"What about the other bathroom? What's it for? There where no other spare rooms. Eris had to transfigure a bed with my wand. Its not like he ever has guests. Well, except for now." The red head pondered.

"I dunno Gin. Maybe he made it when Eris moved in or something." Harry said, looking at Eris as he spoke.

Eris, however, made no comment and stared at the desk, looking as if he were thinking hard.

"What if they used magic? Some sort of summoning spell or something?" Ginny suggested.

"I doubt that. Doesn't it seem to simple? I mean, a ring made with powerful magic that's probably one of a kind simply being summoned away? And how would the person know that I had taken it off? How would someone know that I take it off when I shower? Plus, the doors always closed, and its to big to fit under it. I don't even know how someone would have walked into the room without me noticing, to be honest. I would have seen the door open." Harry said, truly confused now. The only time the ring ever left his finger was when he showered. How had he not noticed its absence? It was the one thing that kept him only a second away from the Dark Lord. How on earth would he just forget?

"How loud is the shower?" Eris piped up for the first time.

"Err, it makes a lovely roaring noise when you turn it on, the pipes are really old. Why?" Harry answered, perplexed.

"How long does it 'roar' for?" Eris continued.

"Err, about a minute or so, why?" Harry asked again.

"Just a thought. Is it loud enough to mask apparition?"

"There's only one room in the manor that people can apparate in or out of, you know that." Harry frowned. This house was well warded, there wasn't a person alive besides Tom who could over rule that.

"What if it wasn't a person?" the necromancer replied, and Harry blinked a few times, not really processing what Eris was saying.

"That's it!" Snape proclaimed.

"A house elf! I cant believe I didn't think of it before."

Slowly, Harry nodded.

"Yeah, that would explain the apparating and the being short enough to hide behind the table, but how did it make me forget about the ring? Cause there's no way I wouldn't have noticed."

"Well, for one thing, I'm betting it was Bellatrix's house elf. For another, she likely gave it her wand to cast a spell to make you forget. So, all we need to do is get a hold of Bellatrix's elf, and we might be able to get some information out of it." Eris said.

"Yeah but aren't house elves sworn to secrecy or something?" Harry asked. Ginny immediately glanced at Snape then back to the Boy Who Lived.

"What about that thing that you do?" She whispered, looking conspiratorial.

"Err, what thing?"

Ginny wiggled her fingers, looking not unlike a child dressed as a ghost on Halloween.

"Ooooo! I'm not dead anymore!" She sing songed. Eris rolled his eyes at Ginny, but Harry spotted a smile.

"Oh! Right!" Harry shot a look at Severus, who thankfully looked confused. The Boy Who Lived wasn't sure when Tom wanted anyone to find out about his necromancy, or if he ever did want anyone to know.

"But what if she has more than one elf? And what if she took the one that she used to steal the ring with her where ever she went? I know that's what I would do." Harry quickly brought the subject away from his necromancy. He didn't want Snape to think to hard on it.

"If she has more than one elf, we take them all. If she took the one that we need with her, we figure out another way to find the Dark Lord." Eris said, crossing his arms as he spoke.

"That's not very reassuring." Harry grumbled. It wasn't much, but it was all he had. He just hoped that Bellatrix was as stupid as Harry thought she was and had left the elf behind. And that it was even an elf they were looking for. if not, the Boy Who Lived was completely stumped.


	42. Second thoughts

(_A/N hi there. Did any of you go to triple J's one night stand in Australia? If you did I probably elbowed you in the face. I'm not good with crowds. Or rain. Or fucking ponchos. Also, do any of you have LibreOffice? Have you ever noticed that at the bottom it says insert STD? I find that so damn funny because I'm so immature. Also also, is there any particular song that you associate with LT? 'cause I would love to hear it. Also also also, this story will continue to be updated here until further notice, and I've decided that it wont be being posted on AFF. I don't really like it there. It's confusing and I have a small brain. Thank you for your attention.)_

The one elf that Bellatrix left behind was as crazy as she was. And about as useful.

All it wanted to talk about was 'stupid chickens' and how much she hated them. Even after Harry killed her and brought her back, she kept telling Harry that he was amazing, and to take care of those mangy chickens.

Harry eventually lost his patience and left it to Snape to deal with. If it weren't for Snape telling him that it would be stupid to give up on the elf just yet, the Boy Who Lived would have just killed it. He had given Snape an excuse about how the elf was suddenly so loyal to him, saying that it was one of the Dark Lord's spells, and no he wasn't going to share it.

So he told the old and crazy elf that Snape was her master now, and to do everything he said. Though the elf, who was apparently named Springle, which Harry had snorted at, was reluctant at first, she eventually took Harry's word as law and followed Snape down the hall and away from the Chosen One.

Which had relieved Harry, to say the least. He had no patience for stupidity, and his sanity was wearing thin. He wanted this over, and Bellatrix dead, so things could go back to the way they were.

However that was. The longer Harry spent away from Tom, the more it seemed like he was overestimating their relationship. Not that he was second guessing his own choices, far from it. The more he thought about the Dark Lord, the more he was sure that he was most likely, probably, dare he think it, in love with the man.

But this made him nervous more than anything. What if Tom didn't feel the same? What if, while Voldemort was locked in a cell in god knows where, he was reconsidering? What if, when Harry found him, because god help him, he was going to, Tom decided that he had made a mistake and shunned the Boy Who Lived?

The more Harry thought about it, the more likely it seemed in his mind. He was almost certain about it most days, and others he wondered if he was overreacting.

There had always been moments when Harry had doubted himself. Doubted what he and Tom had. It felt, for lack of a better word, temporary.

What could he possibly give the Dark Lord that he could not get through other means? How long till he got bored with Harry and left him in the dust?

In reality, the only thing that was special about Harry was his necromancy. The Dark Lord would surely keep him around for that.

But then again, maybe he wouldn't? Once Tom controlled everything, which Harry was sure that he would, maybe he wouldn't need the Chosen One's ability. He wouldn't be fighting anyone anymore. As it stood, he had hardly needed Harry at all. He had never resurrected anyone for the Dark Lord. They had only ever experimented. And at that point, Tom was so close to knocking over the wizarding government that it hardly even mattered.

There were so few left to stand in his way that Harry feared that he would soon become expendable.

That thought reminded him of Mad Eye Moody when they had captured him, and the shock on the man's face when Voldemort burst through the door looking horrifyingly glorious. And what he had said to Harry.

"_What makes you different?" _

What made him different indeed.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by Snape, and the Boy Who Lived was shocked to find that he was no longer sitting at the desk that he so often found himself at. He was sitting on the window ledge behind the desk staring absently out at the lawns. Not that he could see anything, dark as it was.

He had become so accustomed to this room, and the desk within it, that he found himself sitting at it when there was no reason for it. He would just wander aimlessly into the room, sit at the desk and then wonder what the hell he was doing. He had often been curious as to whether Tom did the same thing.

Harry finally gave a nod to Snape, acknowledging his presence.

"Anything new?" He asked in greeting, as he had for the total of four days that they had had the elf in custody.

On the whole, Snape and Eris were competing with each other on who could be the least helpful. They were neck in neck for the trophy. It aggravated Harry to no end, but as it was, he could hardly get rid of either.

He would be two men down, leaving only Ginny and Lucius in their steed. It was frustrating, but he needed them, unhelpful as they were.

"Yes, actually, the elf said something earlier that I think you should hear."

Harry pushed himself of the ledge and took a seat across from the now seated Snape.

"And that is?" Harry asked as he pulled the heavy chair forward and cursed Tom's apparent need for ridiculous furniture. Snape frowned as if he did not want to divulge the information, and Harry wondered, not for the first time, whose side he was on.

The tiny Dark Lord cleared his throat, and Snape shifted in his seat and grimaced as if he had sat on a tack.

"It said something about Minerva." Snape glared at Harry like he was the one who placed the tack on the chair.

The Boy Who Lived took a second to consider what Severus had said, and drew a blank.

"You mean Profes- McGonagall?" Harry questioned.

"Yes. Springle mentioned that she was the 'Leader chicken,' and that she had corrupted her former master. Who, apparently, is no where near as good as you." Snape scrunched up his face as if that was the most untrue thing he had ever heard.

"So you think that, for whatever insane reason, Bellatrix took T- the Dark Lord to the Order Of The Phoenix?"

Snape nodded like it was the best explanation possible. Which it clearly wasn't.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Harry deadpanned, preparing to send Severus out to find something more plausible. Like Bellatrix was keeping Tom inside a wooly mammoth in the Amazon. Much more believable.

"I have heard far more ridiculous things that turned out to be true." Snape said this with an emphasis that made Harry think that it was aimed at him.

"Okay, enough, what the hell is your problem?" Harry snapped, and Severus straightened in his seat.

"I wanted to ask you if you truly think that rescuing the Dark Lord is a good idea." He said it so matter of factly that Harry could only blink at him for a number of seconds.

"What." Eventually slipped out of the young Dark Lord's mouth, without any prompting on his behalf. Then his brain kicked in.

"What the hell kind of a question is that?" Harry straightened in his chair, his hand reaching for his wand.

"What I mean to say, is that now would be the best time to back out of the mess that you've made for yourself."

Harry's mouth fell open, and he shook his head in disbelief.

"This, this mess? What, I mean I don't even, what? What mess? This is not a mess!" Harry's voice rose with his emotions. What was Snape getting at?

"As much as I loathe to admit it, I swore an oath to protect you. And the path that you're taking is not one I would think of as safe. The Dark Lord is not forgiving, and is hardly caring. Whatever it is that you have with him is not real. He is using you, and when you are no longer useful, he'll be rid of you."

Harry stared at Snape for a long moment, his anger suddenly fizzling to a complete and final stop.

Why did everyone keep saying that? That he would be thrown away? It was as if everyone around him, friend or foe, was tuned in to his deepest fears, like they were written plainly on his face.

"This is where I belong. There is so much that you don't know." Harry tried to say this with finality, with the conviction that he so badly wanted to feel, but it came out flat and uncertain.

"Think on that, before you decide on what to do about the Order. You may find that you are wrong." Snape stood then, and turned toward the door without another word, leaving the Boy Who Lived alone and more uncertain than he had ever been.

_Five days earlier_

"Minerva, you cant be serious!" This was, quite possibly, the longest sentence that Remus had uttered since the death of Nymphadora.

"I agree with Remus, this seems to me like a rather obvious trap." Arthur said, crossing his arms as if the matter was final. Molly and her sons remained silent.

Minerva had already spoken to Rubeus on the matter, and he was more than happy to go along with whatever plan that she proposed.

"So she just walked right up to you and said, what, exactly? Can I hide You-Know-Who at your house?" Either Fred or George said this, she wasn't sure which.

"Not precisely. But I believe that this is a great opportunity. We can seize the both of them and turn them over to the authorities."

One of the twins snorted at this.

"You think she's just going to walk in here, unprepared for the possibility that we might capture her? She's crazy, not stupid. This has to be some sort of a trick. A ploy to find us," Remus' eyes sparkled with anger and he leaned forward, his face almost touching Minerva's.

"Of course I know that she will have considered the possibility." The ex Hogwarts professor didn't have the heart to tell her fellow members that they were likely not even a speck on the Dark Lord's rader now. That was how far they had fallen under the weight of the Boy Who Lived's betrayal.

"I think we should do it." Molly spoke so quietly that Minerva thought at first that she had imagined it.

"Me too. What have we got to lose now? The only way from here is up. It has to be. And maybe this can help us get Ginny back." This was one of the twins, the one that had not spoken earlier. His brother watched him with disgust on his face.

"Are you nuts?" He asked his twin, and the other stared him down.

"Maybe. But how can we pass this up?"

"Calm it down. How can we agree to something when we don't even know the full extent of what happened? How did this happen? What exactly did she say to you Minerva?" Arthur asked, his arm around his wife, as it so often was after Ginny had vanished.

"She didn't talk to me in person, she sent an owl. It was lucky I wasn't here at the time, or the owl would have been sent away."

"I thought you had more sense! It could have been anyone who sent the owl! It could have been Voldemort, for all you know!" Half the table flinched at Voldemort's name.

"Calm down Remus, do you honestly think that I didn't double check the sender? It's really a rather simple detection spell. And from her letter I believe that she is being truthful-"

"We don't even know if Voldemort is even being held. What if he's not missing and he's trying to find us? Have you thought about that?"

"Remus, if you would just let me speak," Minerva's tone was stern, one that she distinctly recalled using on a young and a mischievous Harry Potter. The very thought that he had willfully left them all made her stomach turn.

"The letter was incredibly desperate, and I did my best to check if it was true. I cast a few truth charms and as far as I can tell she is sincere."

"There are ways around those charms, and I'm sure You-Know-Who would have a way." Arthur cut in.

"I am aware of this, and I'll have you know that I am just as worried as you are. But as it stands I can't let an opportunity like this slip through my fingers. If this works, the wizarding world is safe again."

"What did the letter say?" Molly asked.

"It said that Har- that Potter was getting closer to finding her and that she needed to hide You-Know-Who. And that we were the safest place that she could think of. And that she suspected her colleague was, or was about to, betray her to Potter."

Collectively, the room drew into itself as if they had been kicked. Any mention of Harry did that. Almost the way speaking Voldemort's name aloud affected them.

"Look, we're just going around in circles here. All in favor of keeping He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in the basement put your hand up." Fred or George said this.

Rubeus, Molly, Fred or George and Minerva raised their hands, followed by a nervous and reluctant Arthur Weasley. Leaving only Remus and one of the twins not in favor.

"Then it's decided." Minerva clapped her hands together, signaling the finality of their decision.

"I still think that you're bloody cra-" A knock on the front door startled all of them. No one ever knocked on the door. The place was unplottable and the only people who knew where it was were in the room.

But Minerva knew who it was.

In her reply to Bellatrix Lestrange, she had given her the address. She had taken a huge risk, and even more than that, she had betrayed the Order's trust. But it needed to be done. Whether they agreed to it or not. This was where desperation and chance had led them, and be damned if Minerva McGonagall wasn't going to seize this opportunity with both hands. She just hoped that she hadn't been wrong.

Her certainty, however, did not stop her from drawing her wand.

(_A/N Just a blooper that a friend and I came up with for this chapter. _

"I think we should do it." Molly spoke so quietly that Minerva thought at first that she had imagined it.

Minerva stared at her, her eyes wide.

"What, y-you and me? Like, Do IT?" The ex professor stuttered.

Molly winked.

_So yeah. We're so funny. Also, am writing another HP slash that you should check out called Hired Help. cant stop writing it :) )_


	43. Liquida Tenebris

_(A/N alright, after much inner turmoil, I've decided that I'll post at least one more chapter of this, and leave it up to you guys to decide whether or not I should put it up for adoption; or continue to struggle with it. I do love this story. And all of you.)_

"If I were any sort of cow, I'd be a violent one."

Harry looked over the edge of his glasses, and lowered the letter he had been reading. He leaned back into his seat and frowned, tilting his head in confusion.

"Ginny," He began, his head still on an angle.

"What? Like a literal cow?"

She smiled and tilted her head in the same way.

"Yeah, a literal one. Eris took me on a picnic this morning and I saw one. It looked really complacent and boring. I figure, if I was one, I'd make people to frightened to try and eat me."

Harry looked back at the letter that still sat on the desk, to confused to reply and not sure if Ginny even wanted one, but he didn't want to seem as if he was blowing her off by picking the letter up.

"Right," He said slowly.

"Don't you think they've worked out that they're nothing but food yet?"

"I've never asked one," he said, starting to find humor in this odd conversation.

"Hey, Jackie, have you seen Bertha? Yeah, she went into that shed there." Ginny seemed to be pretending to have a conversation on the behalf of the cows.

"And then meat came out the other end. Strange, don't you think?"

"Moo," Harry replied, and she laughed. He smiled wider.

"Distraction enough for you?" She asked after a moment, and he snorted.

"It was certainly weird," He said.

"You're welcome. So what were you reading?"

Harry picked up the letter again, sighing at it.

"It's a letter from the headmaster of Durmstrang. He said that he's fine with transferring students, but not at the cost of his school."

"And that means?" She asked, frowning.

"Meaning I have to pay for transport or whatever else it is these students will need. Which isn't that bad, I suppose."

"Isn't that guy supposed to be one of the Dark Lord's followers? Wouldn't he be all proud that he got to send his students to the school that he runs? He should be spitting money out his nostrils to get them here." Ginny said, leaning back in the chair that harry used to sit in, across from Tom.

That felt like years ago.

"Well, I don't really care." He told her, because it was true.

The only thing that mattered right now was getting Tom back and carrying on the way they had been. Because as things were, Harry was losing his mind.

Not just because he had lost Tom, but because he was bored, and in over his head all at the same time.

He was no desk jockey.

He was an action hero, all the way. Sitting behind a desk and trying to lead an army was almost impossible, and someone was bound to notice that the crown had changed hands, so to speak. Harry didn't run things quite as smoothly as Tom did.

It wouldn't be long and the questions would come. He was surprised they hadn't already.

Ginny sighed and crossed her arms at his attitude but didn't say anything.

It had been a week since Snape had told Harry that Tom had been taken to the order, and so far, not much had happened on that front.

Harry didn't know where they were.

And he knew security would be tight.

He wanted to send Ginny to find them, say that she had been tricked or something, that she wanted to be with her family.

Though there were many flaws with the idea.

One, they wouldn't trust her. No one but her mother would. They wouldn't show her where Tom was at all, if they even let her in.

Two, Eris. He was so against Ginny leaving his side that he had almost attacked Harry in his refusal of that plan.

And though he could hardly do much damage, Harry didn't want to deal with the pissed off necromancer any more than he wanted to put his friend in danger.

So the plan was scrapped before any head way had been made.

Neville was his next idea, and he was going to meet with the boy before the day was out.

Not that Neville knew that.

He planned to just turn up at his house. He didn't have the time or want to announce his imminent arrival.

And he did want to see the look on the timid boys face.

Ginny was going to disillusion him before he left. She wanted to go with him, but Harry didn't see the point.

She had taken up going through all the letters and requests that he received and set them in order of importance.

He didn't want to take her from that duty, because that would mean that he had to do it.

And there was no way he would ever, ever, ever sit behind the desk and read all those damn stupid things, only to find two or three out of hundreds that even remotely required his attention.

Ever again.

Plus, it was hardly as if he was going to be doing anything dangerous.

And if he was, well, good.

He needed some good solid action, because he was losing his damn mind.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Mrs. Longbottom, is Neville here?"<p>

The old woman eyed him with incredible suspicion, and Harry wondered if he'd made the right choice.

She held her wand in her hand, and her arm wobbled about as if she couldn't decide whether or not she wanted to point it at him.

"Uh," Harry took a wary step back, though he wanted to take out his wand and point it right back.

But killing his grandmother would surely alienate Neville.

So he tried to look cowed.

He looked exactly as he did when he had kidnapped Peter's mother, and when he laid eyes on himself in the mirror he swore he could smell cat.

"Look, I don't really need to see him, if you don't want,"

She eyed him some more and Harry nearly took his wand out to cast an imperio and just step her out of the damn way, before she yelled;

"Neville!" And actually startled him into stepping back for real.

"Uh," He said again.

"There's someone here to see you!"

Harry tried to smile at her, but it faltered a little. She frowned at him before stepping back and pointing her wand at him; and gesturing for him to step through.

He did, keeping his own hand firmly from his own wand, though habit was making it hard.

He heard feet thumping down stairs somewhere In the house and he turned to the sound, waiting for the teenager to come into view.

"Hi! I'm Evan." Harry said in a chirpy voice when Neville appeared, and he looked confused and wary.

"I needed to speak to you in private, I have a message for you." He strained his eyes and made a face that he hoped would get the point across clearer.

Clearer than his mouth had, at least.

Neville continued staring, and his grandmother still stood next to them, looking between the two.

"Um, um, yeah, I mean, yeah. Come upstairs." He gave his grandma a look that said 'Don't worry,' and led Harry through the house.

"What's this about?" He asked after he had ushered Harry into a room that was obviously the teen's own, judging by the Gryffindor banners.

"I need you to do something for me," Harry began quickly and quietly.

"It's me, Harry, Harry Potter," He added.

"I need you to find a way to get into the Order of the Phoenix. I mean really, really need. Like, I'm ordering you to. Yeah, that's an order." Harry said, sounding unsure of himself.

Neville looked him up and down and seemed unconvinced.

"Prove you're who you say you are."

"I'm not revealing myself here," Harry said, annoyed.

"If I do and your grandma walks in I'll have to do something you don't want." He warned, crossing his arms as the boy sat down on his bed.

"Well, tell me something that only we know."

"Err," Harry thought for a second.

"We went to confront Dumbledore together, and he ignored you completely."

He said, not mentioning Hermione at all.

He watched Harry for a moment longer before he nodded, satisfied.

"Why? Why do I need to find them, and how?"

"The why isn't important right now, but I'm pretty sure if you find the Weasley twins, you'll find your way in. and this is the most important job I've given anyone, so don't screw up, and make it quick, alright?"

The authority was clear in his voice, and Neville gave a quick, shaky nod.

"Good. Contact me the very second you get in, and no later." Harry said, his hand on the door handle.

"Oh- okay,"

* * *

><p>"How'd it go?" Eris asked, Ginny right beside him.<p>

"Alright, I just wish I could have made sure he got right on it, you know? I have no way of knowing if he's going to do it, or if he's gonna make it a priority."

"Did you tell him it was super important?" Ginny asked, leaning into her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Well, yeah. I told him it was the most important job going, but you know him. He's nice, and all, but he's as clever as a sack of potatoes."

"I could help him?" Ginny said, and Eris bristled.

"How would you do that," Harry said; looking away and leaning back, supporting his weight with his arms.

He was sitting on the floor in the library, and the two necromancers were sitting on the lounge in front of him.

"I don't know. Help him find my brothers; in secret of course. I'm much better suited to finding those two scoundrels than he is."

Harry nodded, knowing that was true, but Eris was still sitting stiff as a board.

"you might need to discus that with your friend there," Harry told her, inclining his head to Eris, who seemed to be tuning into the conversation again.

"I don't want you out in the open. It's to easy for you to be caught," He pulled her closer and Harry sighed, shifting himself to get a more comfortable position.

"With all due respect, Eris, if she were to be caught, which she wont," Harry added the last part quickly before Eris snapped at him,

"You know that I would raise hell to get her back, right? And that I wouldn't fail." His tone was deadpan and he stared at the older man, exasperated.

He loved Ginny, and he didn't want any harm coming to her, but at the same time, she could be helping, and he knew that she could be a great help, if Eris let her.

Eris didn't reply straight away, and Ginny turned to him slightly.

"Don't you trust me to be careful? You know I will be. We're so close to winning that me being thrown in prison is unlikely. And if it did happen, I really wouldn't be there long." She gestured to Harry, and smiled.

"Alright. But if anything happens, you'll know about it," he warned the Boy Who Lived, and Harry laughed.

"Thanks," The Mini Dark Lord said after a moment.

* * *

><p><em><span>"There are a few reasons. One, because you needed to talk with Death. There was no way around it. Two, I knew that a part of you still wanted me gone. Though it is suspiciously absent now,"<span> the Darkness laughed._

_Harry sighed mentally._

_"_Why?"__

_"For that, there are also a lot of reasons. You will see, though. But right now, our time is running out." _

_"_What? It's only been five minutes___!" Harry was outraged that his time was being cut short._

_"Here it has. Out there it has been much longer. It's time for you to go back to Hogwarts. I think you will find you are sufficiently injured." _

_"_Can I do this anytime I want to talk to you?" ___He asked._

_"That would all depend on Voldemort, really. But yes, if you wish to talk, this is the way to do it."_

Harry knew he was dreaming, but he didn't know why he was dreaming about this particular memory.

It was enough to make the infernal itch the Darkness left in his gut ache, and he hated that feeling more than almost anything.

The dream was enough to wake him, and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. He had been sleeping in Tom's bed, though it felt strange and empty.

A thought hit him then.

The Darkness never specified how far, exactly, Liquida Tenebris reached.

He had always assumed that it required direct contact, but what if? What if distance didn't matter? He shoved his glasses on his face and snatched the elder wand of the table, almost breathless with the hope that had just now burst in his chest like a beacon.

"Liquida Tenebris," He hissed, though he couldn't see the inky liquid in the blackness, he knew it was there, pouring from his wand, and he hoped, desperately, that it was headed in the direction of the Dark Lord.


	44. Tearing legs off beetles

_(A/N some of you mentioned that this is so close to finishing that there really isn't a need to put it up for adoption. Which I think is a valid point. I think I will try to finish this, because in my head there are three or less chapters to go, and an epilogue. The conversation about cows from the last chapter is actually one I've had with my Fiance. He was trying to stop me from getting super mad about something. 'Calm down. If I were a cow...' 'Sir, what the fuck?' Also, Super big thanks to Stellanti Nocte, who introduced me to write or die, and put up with me for, like, hours, while I wrote this chapter.)_

_Broken Crown; Mumford and Sons_

_So crawl on my belly till the sun goes down,_

_I'll never wear your broken crown._

_I took the road, and I fucked it all away._

_Now in this twilight how dare you speak of grace?_

* * *

><p>Harry figured he must have fallen back to sleep. Nothing had happened with his spell, or it was taking a damn long time. He figure he must have waited an hour or more.<p>

It had been worth a try.

He had no other ideas. He just hoped Neville came through.

"_Harry? Harry!"_

His eyes burst open, and he saw images flashing past in a blur, heard words whispered and nonsensical, and his heart leaped with joy.

"_Oh thank god. Where are you?" _Though he knew the answer, he asked anyway.

"_The Order. McGonagall is the secret keeper, I believe."_

Harry nodded, rubbing his chin and buzzing with adrenalin.

"_Right. I have someone set to find you, and infiltrate the order. What happened to Bellatrix?" _

"_I am not sure. But I'd wager a guess that they knocked her out and locked her up too." _The Darkness replied.

"_I'll kill her." _He said matter of factly.

"_Are you alright?" _He asked, suddenly worried.

"_We're refusing to eat the slop they shove through the gap under the door."_ The Horcrux replied.

Harry sighed.

That was just typical.

"_And I suppose I'll have to drag you out when the time comes?_" He asked, crossing his figurative arms.

"_We are not being foolish,"_

Harry just snorted.

"_I miss Tom." _He told the Darkness. He didn't want to sound so weak, but he felt like he did.

"_And he misses you. Painfully so._"

Harry let out a whoosh of breath and unfolded his arms.

"_Really? He misses me?" _He thought he sounded much like a child, but he couldn't hold back the squeak in his voice.

"_You didn't think he would?"_ The Horcrux sounded as if it was holding back a laugh.

Harry didn't answer.

"_Who are you sending to find the Order?"_ The Darkness asked after a moment of silence. Harry was still trying to get his head around the fact that the Dark Lord missed him.

"_Neville," _Harry replied.

"_Well, it was nice knowing you."_ The Darkness said.

Harry snorted.

"_I really didn't have much of a selection." _

"_Can Tom hear me? In here?" _Harry wondered. He had thought about this before, but he had never asked.

"_Yes."_

"_I'm going to get you out. And I- I miss you." _He had already said that, but he had been about to say something else.

The Horcrux didn't reply, and Harry felt himself slip into what must have been real sleep.

* * *

><p>"Good morning!" A voice singsonged, stabbing into his brain like a hot poker.<p>

"Ginny," Harry mumbled, trying to rub his eyes; finding his glasses still on his head from the night before.

"Stop waking me up like that," He told her, like he did every morning.

It never stopped her.

"Severus want's to see you in the office." She told him, a smile in her voice.

"I know you've been wanting something to do while Neville tracks my brothers down,"

Harry sat up and murmured his agreement, hoping that she didn't mean something tedious and irritating like she usually did.

She chose that moment to turn the light on and he hissed, shielding his face.

"C'mon, you gotta go see Snape."

He groaned, but got up, grabbing a robe and just throwing it over his pajamas.

Be damned if he was going to be formal for that greasy man.

He followed his red headed side kick, wanting to mutter under his breath but stopping himself. He was more mature than that.

he found Snape and Burley in his study, and his curiosity doubled instantly.

Ginny left them, and Harry took a wary seat.

"Yes?" He asked when no one spoke.

"I was speaking to Burley here about Rita Skeeter this morning, my Lord." The way he said 'my Lord,' made Harry think there was cockroaches in his mouth.

"I reckon she's the reason the Dark Lord was taken to begin with," Burley added, nodding along with himself.

"And why is that," Harry asked, though he had an idea forming in his mind.

"Well, you and him, you're, ah well. You know. and she, well, she didn' take it well."

Snape's upper lip curled but he said nothing in response.

"Right. so she was jealous or whatever?" Harry asked, though he didn't want an answer.

"What does all this matter, anyway? I don't know where Rita is, do you? I'd love to kill her regardless of this. Now I'm just angrier." _At myself_, he added silently.

"Well, I figured you'd want her found even more, desperately, than before." He said desperately with the same tone of disgust that he had been using a lot lately.

"And?"

"I took the liberty of putting a few more people on the job."

"And?" Harry asked again, exasperated.

"We know where she is."

"Snape," Harry began.

"News like that should always be the first damn thing you say when I walk into the room," Then his anger redirected itself at Skeeter.

"Where?" He asked his ex potions proffessor.

"Would you like me to side along apparate you, my Lord?"

"No, just tell me where."

* * *

><p>Harry watched Rita move around her little apartment, which was mostly empty.<p>

He'd been told by Snape that she was an animagus, which annoyed him. She could become quite small and get away, if she wished it.

So he was going to take her someplace she couldn't get away.

Ginny and Eris had helped him set up a room in the manor that stopped any kind of transformation.

Harry hadn't even thought of that. He was just going to rock up with a jar and hope for the best.

He watched her through her window, his invisibility cloak over his head. He was waiting for her to go to bed, so he could break in and steal her.

He had ended up bringing Snape with him. He figured he would need someone to help him through the wards, if there were any.

Eris couldn't help him with that, though he much preferred the necromancer's company over the grumpy potions masters.

It wasn't long before Skeeter retired, and he poked his arm out of the cloak and gestured for Snape to come closer to the building.

He took his wand out and went about detecting wards. Harry stood still, his heart hammering.

He badly wanted to get his hands on Skeeter. He'd waited long enough.

Not only had she publicly humiliated Tom and himself, she was the reason that Tom had been taken.

_And me_, He told himself.

If he hadn't said anything to Rita about his relationship with the Dark Lord, then she wouldn't have published it.

It had been foolish to think that she wouldn't, even if he did threaten her. She only cared about the glory.

He looked through the window of her apartment once more, noting that she was far from glory. Her home was small, bare and run down, though it was clean. Harry found himself smiling.

_Well, that's what you get_. He thought at her, and though she was hardly about to hear him, it was satisfying.

IT wasn't long before Snape was tearing down the detection wards.

"She's also got wards that alert the ministry, if someone who was not keyed in were to enter," Snape warned, and Harry tried not to sarcastically walk right in before he took them down.

* * *

><p>Rita was still asleep when he apparated her back to the manor.<p>

he had told Snape to shove off and do whatever after he had taken the wards down. Snape had insisted on checking the inside of the house, and the Boy Who Lived sighed and gave in, waiting outside as Snape tentatively took a step in and disappeared from view.

He came out a few moments later and gave Harry a brisk nod, which he returned.

"I made sure that she wouldn't wake up until she was within the walls of the manor." He said, and apparated away before Harry could say thank you.

* * *

><p>Rita Skeeter was not the type of woman to panic.<p>

she prided herself on being quite calm, always ready to do whatever it took to get to the bottom of any mystery.

But right now, she couldn't have denied the little ball of fear quickly forming in her stomach. She had already tried to apparate away, and she had tried her beetle form.

She was trapped.

Strapped to a table.

She could only see the stone roof above her. Though she didn't want to believe it, she had a good idea where she was, and who had taken her.

She couldn't see anyone around her, though she could only turn her head side to side.

She couldn't open her mouth.

This in itself was horror inducing. There was yet to be a situation that she couldn't talk herself out of.

But if she couldn't speak, well. That was an entirely different problem.

She heard a shuffle above her head and tried again to face it, though she knew she couldn't. A mumble came out of her pursed lips, though she didn't know what she had been trying to say.

"Skeeter," The voice was quiet and polite, though she could feel the malice flowing like heat waves toward her.

"I suppose you're bright enough to figure out what you're here for." The voice stepped into her view, and it was exactly who she thought it was.

"I'd tell you to stick your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye, but," He gestured to her bindings and snorted a small laugh.

The Boy Who Lived looked ragged, his eyes ringed in black, his hair sitting just above his shoulders in a mess. His lips were chapped and his hands shook slightly. Rita had taken all of this in in a second, and it did nothing to reassure her.

She struggled against her bonds and tried to beg for forgiveness with her eyes.

He smiled at her, though it didn't reach his eyes.

She wanted to ask what he was going to do with her, beg him to reconsider, bargain, bribe, whatever. But she couldn't open her mouth.

He just stood there and stared at her, shifting from one foot to the other, twirling his wand in his fingers.

he flicked it at her and she felt her bonds being released, a wave of relief hit her, and it was strong enough to knock her off the table.

"Thank you thank you, thank you," She repeated, over and over.

"No," A voice mumbled, and stood slowly to look at Harry.

"I just like it better when they struggle." He said, still twirling his wand, looking at the floor.

"I'm not letting you go," He looked up at her with an eyebrow raised, as if he couldn't fathom why she had thought he was releasing her.

"You're the reason all this shit happened." He said, though she didn't know what that meant.

She didn't want to ask.

She stood stock still, hoping that he would just forget she was there. She resisted the urge to run for the door. Surely it was locked.

It would be stupid to think otherwise, wouldn't it?

He stared at her for a moment longer, blinking a little owlishly, like he was looking right through her.

"I've gone a damn long time without him, you know. I have this hole," He gestured to his chest and looked down and to the left.

"Right here. Like someone's in there with a saw, cutting bits out all the time." He looked at her again, like he wanted her to reply.

"Gone without who?" She asked when he continued to stare at her.

"Who do you think? Did you think that printing that article would have no consequences? Not just for you," He growled the last part and Rita had to play it over again in her mind to understand what he had said.

"You Know Who?" She asked, eying the door and taking a small step toward it.

"The Dark Lord," He corrected her, reverence in his voice.

"Listen, I did not mean for anything, untoward, to happen," She said quickly, her eyes still flashing from him to the door.

"Something did." He was rocking on his feet, side to side.

"I am really sorry about that," She told him, and he glanced back at her, his eyes narrowing.

"Liar." He pointed his wand at her, and she bolted for the door.

"Please!" She begged, slamming her tiny fists into the wood.

"Please let me out! anyone! I'll do anything!"

"Do you remember when I told you I'd tear you limb from limb?" The voice was still coming from where it had before, and she found it strange that he had not chased her.

Rita turned slowly, her breath hitching.

"That wasn't an empty threat." He was facing away from her, his shoulders rising and falling fast.

"Please,"

"No! Shut up!" He snapped, turning to face her, his wand now raised to be level with her chest.

"If it weren't for your damn glory chasing he'd be here!"

Rita found herself wondering if He Who Must Not Be Named was dead.

if he was, then she was the one that had set it in motion. She found that she was proud of herself, if that was the case.

"Imperio," He muttered, almost to himself.

She found her legs leading her back to the table, and hoisting herself back onto it.

"I just want you to know that I will win. And you will die. And nothing you've ever done will ever mean anything. You're nothing."

She stared at him, her eyes not moving, though she wanted them to. She was fighting the curse, but she had never experienced it before.

Inside her own head, she was screaming.

Outside, she was blinking.

He still had his wand pointing at her, and she felt tears run down her cheeks. The curse didn't stop those at least.

"Oprimere animagi,"

Rita felt her limbs shrinking, and panic consumed every nerve she had.

She knew this feeling.

And she had never been forced into it.

_No no no nonononono,_ Her mind begged her, as if she had any control.

her head shrank with the rest of her, and her vision changed.

She now viewed the world through tiny hexagons, the Boy Who Fell smiling at her from all angles.

"I'm going to tear you apart. I figure that will be easier, if you're smaller."

Her beetle self felt more fear than she had, and she was driving herself crazy.

Time was warping around her oddly, Harry took a step forward and it took years, he took another and he moved faster than humanly possible. she felt herself being picked up, and all the breath left her tiny body.

She felt the Imperio being released, though trying to get away did no good, she was held between his forefinger and thumb. He was looking at her with some curiousity when he pulled the first leg off.

Her mind was so full with terror that no thoughts came with the pain, just brain numbing nothingness.

He tore all the legs off of her insect body quickly, and put her back down on the table with a gentleness that she didn't notice.

"Oprimere animagi," He said again, and she realized, with some terror, that she was becoming large again.

She saw that her insect limbs had become human again, and they lay askew on the ground like spare parts.

She tried to say something, anything, but she spat blood instead.

She found herself repeatedly trying to get up, and shock hit her every time she realized there were no arms or legs to respond.

She was getting cold. What was left of her body tingled, and the pain was subsiding.

The monster beside her seemed to be swaying very slowly.

"I can't decide whether I want to watch you just bleed out, or if I want to do anything else with you."

It seemed to take him ten years to say this.

He was moving so slowly.

"Does it hurt? I hope it does."

It did, she decided, though it was a numb pain. She was quite detached from it.

She wouldn't tell it that even if she could have.


	45. Lovers eyes

_(A/N This might well be the last chapter, besides the epilogue. Wow. Also, dunno when you'll get the epilogue, because tomorrow, I'm leaving on a jet plane and I don't know when I'll be back again. Just kidding I'll be back on the thirtieth.)_

Harry woke up feeling mind numbingly comfortable. He was glad to find that it was still dark, and that he could get more sleep. Until he noticed the tawny owl tapping against the glass.

He figured that this was what woke him up in the first place.

As soon as he got up to open the window, Ginny burst into the room and lit it up.

"Harry! Did you get an owl too? When are we leaving?" Eris was quick to enter behind her, and he got to wondering where his privacy had gone.

Then a bigger part of him did a flip in hope, ad he turned back to the owl, opening the window and yanking the bird through.

He took the letter and read it fast;

_Harry,_

_I'm in. _

_Address is one Waxford Lane, I made you a port key to get you here, _

_if you don't know where that is. _

_Just read the address out when you get here. _

_Password is Luna._

Harry whooped, stopped, stared, then whooped again.

"Ginny, go wake up Snape, get him to contact Malfoy, and to tell him to bring his son here, immediately."

His mind was flinging ideas all over the place, none of them staying for more than a second. it had him irritated that he was so disorganized.

"Eris, find Nagini and Hellion. They usually stay by the fire in the entrance hall. Tell them to find me in the office." Harry shooed Eris off, and he nodded stiffly, leaving Ginny and Harry alone.

"Do you think I'll need more people than that?" Harry asked before Ginny went to do as he said.

She shrugged, then shook her head no when he looked worried.

"Harry, no one can die with you around." She put her hand on his shoulder and wiggled him slightly.

He nodded, and when she didn't leave, he watched her carefully.

"I have a favor to ask," She said, looking very serious all of the sudden.

Harry just waited.

"If, well, I mean when, we find my family there; could you just disable them? They really can't do much damage to you now, and-"

Harry stopped her by raising his hand in front of her face.

"I would never hurt anyone you love." He said, and she smiled, relieved.

"That's the only reason Eris isn't dead," He added, laughing.

* * *

><p>"Alright, we finally know where the Dark Lord is. So I'm taking you lovely bunch with me." Harry addressed the room, his nerves making his hands shake a little. He had Hellion on his shoulders and Nagini coiled around his left leg; under the robes he had thrown on over his pajamas.<p>

Draco looked around at everyone as if he'd never seen them before and he had no idea why he was there. Lucius had taken him out of school, and he obviously hadn't let the teen get out of his night clothes.

Snape looked as if he had fallen asleep in his robes.

Eris and Ginny looked as if they had been awake all night, as did the elder Malfoy.

"Just a few things before we activate the port key," Harry said, holding the muggle lighter made port key in his left hand, his wand in his right.

"No one harms a Weasley." He glared at the Malfoy's with some emphasis when he said this.

"I'll kill anyone who does. If you need to, body bind them."

Lucius gave a reluctant nod, and everyone followed.

"Alright. Just follow my lead," He held the lighter out for everyone to touch, and activated it just as soon as they did.

They found themselves in the middle of a field, and Harry read the address out loud, watching with a little childish fascination as a building not unlike the Burrow appeared.

He wasn't very surprised by this.

A farm in the middle of no where was pretty secure.

"Okay," Harry said, a whoosh of breath escaping, his hands still twitching to the beat of his heart.

"I want Snape and Lucius bringing down the detection wards. And any other nasty ones. As soon as they're done, we go in, quiet, and we curse them while they're sleeping. all except McGonagall. Whoever finds her, take her wand and bring her to me. Remember, just stun the Weasley's. Bring them to me as well. Anyone else you find, well, if you don't kill them, bring them to me as well. Leave Neville entirely alone, he's the one who led us here." Snape and Lucius had already begun their task before Harry had finished his instructions.

Ginny set about casting silencing spells on herself and Eris, and Harry did the same for himself. He gestured for Draco to follow his example.

It ended up taking nearly half an hour to break the most offensive wards, and Harry had needed to cast silencing charms on himself three times. Ginny didn't need to recast it at all. She and Eris just sat in the grass, pulling it out and giggling amongst themselves.

Draco had stood stock still, watching his father and Snape work.

He hadn't needed to recast the spell, either.

Harry was irritated with himself for it.

"Alright. We've removed all detection and alarm spells. The rest of the wards are to old to really have any effect." Snape said, and Harry's stomach did another flip.

"Okay, okay. Alright." Harry rubbed his hands together.

_"Hellion, go on ahead. See if you can see anyone on guard."_ As it was, they were a fair distance from the house, and no one would see them from this far away.

Neville hadn't mentioned and guards, but he figured it would be best to make sure that there was no one obviously awake in the house.

He entered his snake's mind to see what it saw, and told everyone to wait for his signal.

He almost jumped out of his skin when Hellion actually found someone.

This someone was sitting on the front steps, sobbing into his lap, oblivious to the large snake; thankfully. Harry was dead certain it was Remus Lupin. He was at least sure that this was no Weasley.

_'Bite him,_' Harry told the snake through the mental link, and Hellion did so, quickly and around the neck.

Harry was glad that Remus only made quiet gargling noises. He decided his snake must have pierced his windpipe and he was glad for its thoughtfulness, he hadn't even considered that he might make a racket.

He watched Remus try and pull himself up the stairs, shock and horror written all over his face. Hellion struck again, and the werewolf kicked at the snake, dragging himself towards the door.

The last thing the young Dark Lord wanted was for him to alert the rest of the order. The element of surprise would make this all so much simpler.

He pulled himself out of the snake's mind and bolted forward, making a 'follow me' motion with his hand.

He couldn't hear them following him, but a quick glance behind showed him that they were keeping pace. He thankfully reached his ex defense teacher before he had gotten the door open, though it looked as if he had started running for nothing.

Hellion seemed to have struck the man at least three more times, and Lupin's face was turning blue.

Harry sighed and knelt down beside the man who had once been his father's friend.

"I'm sorry," He told the wolf, who was was clawing at his throat and glaring at the Boy Who Lived.

"I wish I could tell you everything, but it's to late for that."

Remus growled and spat blood, his legs jerking. Harry decided he didn't want to see anymore of it, and he knew that Remus was no longer a threat. He turned the door handle that Lupin had been desperately reaching for, and allowed his snake and Nagini to enter first.

_"Do not bite any Weasley's, or McGonagall,"_ Harry told them, hoping Nagini knew who these people were.

He gently stepped over Lupin and frowned down at him, before making a quick decision.

"Avada Kedavra," He muttered, his wand pointed at the back of Remus' head.

He stepped aside and let everyone through, watching them go off in different directions and trying to sense where the Dark Lord was. And where Bellatrix Lestrange was.

He was going to rip out her insides and roll in them.

He waited downstairs in the small entrance area, resisting the urge to just go tearing off. He didn't know if there was any booby traps around but if there was, they would be where ever Tom and Bellatrix were.

So he waited for someone to bring him Minerva. He shut the door so that she wouldn't see Remus' dead body.

He also lit the main lantern and sat down at the little dining table, pointing his wand at the stairs and trying to look like he belonged there.

like he wasn't about to lose his shit and kill them all without asking questions.

The first down the stairs was the twins, levitating in the air next to their mother and father, following by Ginny and Eris with their wands out. They laid the family on the floor gently, close to the door and turned to face the stairs.

Next was Lucius and Draco, poking their wand's into Minerva's back. She looked furious, her lips pressed so tightly together they had vanished.

"Mister Potter," She spat, and Harry resisted the urge to shout at her.

He needed to be respectful, at least for now. She had Tom, and besides that, he didn't hate her.

He didn't know what to call her now, so he just nodded curtly. Snape came down the stairs followed by no one. Harry nodded at him.

"Listen. I just want the Dark Lord. I'm not going to harm anyone here."

Her lips got closer together, if that was even possible.

"Please?" Harry tried. She stared at him.

"Alright, let her sit," Harry said, sensing this might take a while and pushing the chair across from him with his foot.

She sat down with a ramrod straight back, and the Boy Who Lived straightened just by looking at her.

Lucius and his son still had their wands pointed at her, the rest just had them in their hands. Ginny stood in front of her paralyzed family like a soldier, Eris in front of her, just the same.

"I know you can be reasonable," Harry said after he had taken in his surroundings.

"I can be. But there is nothing to be reasonable about here." She said with conviction.

"You don't know the full story. You can't know it all." Harry didn't really know what to say, and he didn't want to curse her, but he was close to doing it anyway.

His patience was short when it came to Tom.

"I'm not going to harm anyone here," He said again, and she glared at him harder.

"Liar. Where's Remus? Rubeus?"

Harry hadn't even known that Hagrid was there. He shot a look at Snape who shrugged lightly. Harry wasn't sure if he had killed him or hadn't found him.

"I didn't harm them. I'm not lying." He shot another look at Snape.

"You think I believe you'd harm who's left," She said after a moment.

"The family of your right hand woman, or me, who you need information from."

Harry narrowed his eyes at her.

"Lucius. Severus. Find the Dark Lord." He still had his wand pointed at her.

"I'll find him. I always find him, because that's the way I was made."

Eris took a step towards Harry and McGonagall, aiming his wand at her in place of Lucius.

"The prophecy that Dumbledore must have showed you was so wrong it boggles my mind." Harry said calmly, looking no where but her eyes.

"You know about the prophecy? Then you must know that you are doing the wrong thing!" She exclaimed, and the Boy Who Lived shook his head and smiled a sarcastic smile.

"Of course I knew about the prophecy, why else do you think this all happened? I didn't just wake up and figure I was attracted to power. The prophecy he showed you was fake. I found the real one, and it says that I had the power to become the Dark Lord's only equal, and that together, we could fix the world." Harry embellished the last part. He still didn't know what side would save the world.

"I do not believe you." She snapped, and he sighed.

"Immobulus," Ginny spoke the spell so quietly Harry had trouble figuring out where it had come from.

Minerva had frozen with her mouth open and her eyes glared at the red headed girl.

"I figured this would happen, so I brought so veritaserum from Snape's stores," She pulled a small vial from her robe pocket and uncorked it, pouring the contents into the old woman's mouth.

"You're a genius, Ginny." He was glad someone thought ahead, because he had never been good at it.

She released the ex head of Gryffindor, and her lips were now so firmly pressed together the bottom half of her face was white with the effort. Eris and Draco took a more battle ready stance as if they expected her to explode.

"Where is the Dark Lord."

"In the basement," Her tone was curt and she winced away from him when she said it.

"Are there any traps?" He asked, just as a voice he recognized spoke from the stairwell.

_"Harry," _The parseltongue was unmistakable and he stood so fast the chair fell to the ground behind him.

Minerva turned to stare at the Dark Lord, and replied to Harry's question at the same time; "Yes," She said, but Harry paid her no mind.

_"Tom."_ He replied in the serpent tongue, and took a quick step forward to embrace the man, stopping himself when Lucius appeared, dragging a limp Snape with him.

"Oh, finally," Harry said this in English, and demolished the space between them in two quick steps.

"I'm taking him home. Don't kill any of the ones still alive. Find Bellatrix and bring her to me. And Neville." Harry had wondered where Neville was, but hadn't questioned it.

He took Voldemort's arm and lead him to the front door, ignoring Minerva's gasp at the sight of a blue faced Lupin.

He apparated them both back to the manor without another glance backwards.

* * *

><p>"You've become quite the leader." Tom said when they were both standing in the Dark Lord's office.<p>

"Shut up. Just shut up. Are you hurt? Do you have any idea what I've been through?" The Boy Who Lived took a step towards the man he loved and looked him over with a critical eye.

He was his lizard self, and surprisingly not dirty, though he looked much thinner. Harry guessed that he had ordered Lucius to clean him up when he had found him.

He wondered why he had been dragging Snape with him.

"Why didn't you decimate the order when you had the chance?" Tom asked, his appearance changing quickly.

"That whole three people?" Harry asked, the sarcasm lost with the breathlessness he was feeling.

"Yes," Tom said, taking another step towards Harry.

The Boy Who Lived darted forward and tangled himself in the Dark Lord's arms.

"I missed you." He breathed in deeply, his fingers wrapped in Tom's cloak so tightly that it hurt.

"I missed you," Tom said, twining his fingers through the younger wizards hair.

"It felt like I couldn't breathe sometimes." Harry said, looking up and into his lovers eyes.

"I know," He held his hand out for the younger wizard to take, and led him through the manor towards the bathroom. He called a house elf to him as he walked.

"Food. The best we have."

The house elf bowed and disappeared with a crack.

"I need a shower. Desperately." Tom's tone was dead pan, and Harry nodded, though he didn't think the man smelt bad at all.

Tom stopped in the door way of the bathroom, resting both hands on either side of the frame and stopping Harry in his tracks.

"I love you." The Dark Lord said it so matter of factly, and Harry's mouth fell open as he tried to process what he had just heard.

"I love you too," It was barely a whisper, but Tom smiled and held his hand out for Harry to take.

"Come, I've missed you to much to not ravish you right this moment,"

Harry was pulled into the bathroom and the door slammed shut behind them.

_(A/N The end. Wow. Two years later and this is finished. I can barely believe it. There will be a sequel. Two in fact, and the epilogue will be up as soon as i can get it up. I love you guys :))_


	46. Epilouge

_(I broke my damn finger again. Badly. Also, new keyboard and shitty writing progam = likely typos. I've never been good at editing my writing at the best of times. Sorry. Also sorry for the rushed ending, but if I didn't finish it quick, it was never going to happen. **Sequel up.**)_

"Are you ready?" Tom sounded gentler than he usually was, especially lately.

Harry nodded, clearing his throat and trying not to look as nervous as he was. He had become quite skilled at hiding how he felt.

He could even fool his lover, sometimes.

This was not one of those ocassions.

"You're lying to me. What have I told you about that?"

Harry pursed his lips.

"To not do it. I'm not frightened of the thing itself, we've discussed this. It's what I want. I might not want it as bad as you do, though."

The two Dark Lords were situated someplace that was unusual for the pair, but Harry had all but begged for it.

They sat on a red and white plaid blanket under a tree, a basket of untouched food between them.

Neither was hungry, it was all about the sentiment.

Harry's mind wandered, back to Ginny talking to him about cows.

It seemed like such a short time ago.

He wondered if this was the same field she and Eris had seen the cow in.

"Then what is it you fear?" Tom pressed, and Harry sighed, looking back to his lover.

They had discussed this, as well.

"Nothing. That's all." He didn't mean that he didn't fear anything, but that he feared nothing, literally.

Nothing was his greatest fear.

Though lately he had found himself yearning for it.

It was greatly uncomfortable to want something you feared more than anything.

"Do you want to do it today?" Harry asked when it became clear that his lover wasn't going to reply. He knew that Tom understood, anyway. There was no need to say anything more on the subject.

"I thought that was the purpose of this excursion." Tom propped himself up slightly to gesture to the picnic, a smile on his lips.

He'd always humoured Harry, no matter how tedious his requests were.

Tom had said that he loved how young his mind had stayed, how he still acted like a petulant teenager.

Harry found it annoying that he could never act his age.

It made things difficult; this especially.

Harry had hoped that his lover and lord might change his mind; that a picnic would make him love life again, like a cure.

Tom had been holding his wand in his hand since the second he had sat down.

Harry didn't appreciate it.

"Alright. Just not right now. Do you mind if I go for a walk?" Harry wasn't asking, nor was he inviting.

he needed time to remember, his lover's needs could certainly wait.

Tom gave a curt nod, his lips white and pressed together; though he said nothing.

The Boy Who Lived stood and ran his hands over his backside, though he knew there was no grass to brush off.

He could feel his lovers impatient eyes on him as he strolled away, and he steeled his resolve to not let it bother him. Not today.

It didn't surprise him much that his first thoughts were of Ginny.

Her bright red hair still blazed in his memory as brilliantly as her laughter did, though it had been over one hundred years since he had heard her.

He kicked at a clod of dirt as he walked, smiling a watery smile.

She had proven to be the most loyal friend he had ever had, the only one besides Tom that stood by him no matter what.

* * *

><p><em>"Harry." <em>

_He didn't pay much mind to the small red head, figuring she was about to go on with some nonsense. _

_"Snape, take this to Malfoy junior; and tell him well done with the speech yesterday. I'm glad he's head of public appearences." Harry handed a letter to his ex potions proffessor, Ginny still staring at him from her place on the couch across the room._

_He watched Snape limp out of the room, the injury he sustained at the order years before had never healed, and for whatever reason Harry respected him more for sustaining it. _

_He never did complain about it either. _

_"Harry," Ginny said again, and he glanced at her, his hands full of paper work and his glasses sitting on the edge of his nose._

_"How good do you think you'd be as a god father?" _

_He looked at the paper work, then back to her. _

_"Bloody awful, I'd say." He popped a grape in his mouth and busted it, not really thinking about what the red haired woman meant. _

_"I think you'd make a good one," Ginny pressed. _

_"That would require a close friend having a bab-" Harry paused and looked back at his small friend, who's eyes were wide and excited. _

_"Ginny are you serious? I'll be the best god father you've ever seen!" He stood up and crossed the room, yanked her out of her seat and hugged her tightly. Then he held her back at arms length._

_"Are you serious?" He asked again, and she nodded, her grin huge._

_"I'm going to be a mother."_

* * *

><p><em>Ginny Weasley's first death had been an accident. <em>

_Her son had been two at the time, and she and Eris had left the small boy in the care of Tom and Harry. _

_The two had been needing some time off, and Harry had offered to babysit while they had a night away. _

_Tom, Harry and little Jamie had been relaxing in the sitting room, Jamie playing with a wand that produced sparks and bubbles at random intervals, when Eris appeared with a crack, Ginny limp in his arms and bleeding profusley from the head. _

_Tom looked between Harry and Eris, scooped the toddler up and left the room._

_Jamie could be heard yelling, 'Mommy, oh no!'_

"_She's dead. dead, fix her," Eris didn't seem to be breathing much and his eyes were wild. all through this, Harry hadn't even had time to put down the book he had been reading. _

_He quickly stood up, the heavy tome falling from his lap. _

"_Lay her down," He demanded; with more strength than he felt. _

_He had a lump in his throat and a terror in his chest. _

_He'd done this before, a few times now. But it had never been a friend. _

_He raised his arms regardless, not bothering to tell Eris to leave, because he knew he wouldn't._

_Harry could still hear Jamie crying._

_It took him a few more tries than he would have liked to get the red head to open her eyes. _

"_Master," She said when she looked at him._

"_No," He spat with venom._

"_I order you to be exactly as you were." _

_She blinked, then nodded shakily. _

"_Okay."_

"_What happened," Harry asked Eris, who was now hanging on to Ginny's head._

"_She fell of some rocks. it wasn't very far, I thought she'd be fine."_

_Her second death had been an assasination attempt, meant for Harry himself; during the second uprising, around the time the Muggles were busy bombing each other to bits. _

_Jamie had been seventeen, and his little sister, Lola, was eleven._

_It had been a routine inspection of an orphanage, something Tom had insisted upon. _

_Harry's lover had been busy at the time, so he and Ginny had gone to the orphanage, expecting a usual result._

_Tom made sure the orphans lived like royalty, and expected no less than perfection from their caretakers._

_Fear kept everything moving smoothly and without complaint. _

_So when Harry heard the rebel yell of; "Murderer!" He stopped and turned, curious. He hadn't needed to kill anyone in a long while. He wondered who this person was mad about. _

_Ginny, who had been a few steps behind him, stopped and turned as well, putting her directly in line with the sickly green curse flying their way. Harry didn't even have time to blink before it hit her square in the face. _

_He'd been shaking with rage when he'd scooped her up and apparated, his eyes never leaving the young man who had killed his friend._

_A look of horror had dawned on the mans face, and he apparated just as Harry himself did._

_needless to say, Harry found him and tore his insides out._

* * *

><p><em>Ginny's third death had been natural. She had been ninety seven; lying in her bed, alone. Eris had passed years before and she had stubornly refused to allow Harry to bring him back. <em>

"_He's passed of age," She had whispered to him, tears in her eyes just as surely as there were tears in Harry's._

"_Let him lie." _

_So when Harry held her aged hand in his, he watched her sleep. Her breathing had been slowing steadily, he fought with himself. _

_What did she want? Surely, if she could speak she would tell him to leave well enough alone. _

_To let her lie. _

_Harry was the only one in the room with her. He held her hand tightly, tighter than he could help, as her harsh breathing slowed to a stop. _

_He'd choked out a sob and dropped her hand, raised his arms and brought her back. It had been as natural as breathing. _

"_Master," She rasped, and Harry sobbed._

"_No, no. You have no master. Be as you were. Just talk with me, for as long as you're able." _

"_Trust you Harry, to do something so selfish." She smiled as she spoke and brushed his cheek._

"_I'm sorry," He muttered, his head bowed. _

"_I'm not mad, Harry," _

_His resurection seemed to put some strength in her, but Harry knew this would be the last time he could bring her back._

"_Do you need something? Are you thirsty? Comfortable?" _

_She shook her head and smiled another warm smile._

"_Do you feel like you've lived forever? I feel like I've lived forever."_

_Harry shook his head no, though he wasn't sure if she wanted answer._

"_Of course you dont feel old, you look as young as you did the day you started fitfh year." Her voice was getting quieter._

"_What do you want me to do, when you're gone?" Harry didn't know if she understood what he meant, but he couldn't ask any further._

"_I want to be buried. Here, in the grounds." _

_He nodded and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. _

"_And I want you to not worry about me. I'm happy, Harry. I've had a good life. I've got grandbabies having babies. I'm not afraid of death. I welcome it." _

_Harry didn't answer. _

_The lump in his throat had formed a painful knot in his chest and he could no longer hold back the tears._

"_What will I do without you," He choked the words out and wasn't sure if she heard him._

"_What will I do without you?" She asked, and Harry raised his previously bowed head and looked at her. _

_Her eyes were glittering and her bottom lip wobbled. _

"_I'm sorry," He told her, taking her hand back in his. _

_He felt the urge to beg her not to die. He knew it was selfish and impossible, but he did it anyway._

"_Please stay. I need you here." _

_She began to cry in earnest, and Harry rested his head on her mattress, staining the sheets with his tears. _

"_I cant,"_

_A few moments passed in silence, and Harry still held tight to his friends hand. _

_She had been his sister when he needed her to be. His mother when he didn't want her to be. His greatest friend. _

"_Harry, could you get me some water?" Her voice was raspy and Harry made to call a house elf, but she stopped him. _

"_I want you to." She smiled at his suspicious eyes, and he stood. _

_When he returned with the drink, she had already passed._

* * *

><p>Harry glanced over his shoulder to see his lover, now a tiny spot in the distance.<p>

He sat down on the ground and pushed a small log over, revealing the bugs underneath it. They scurried away as if their lives depended on it.

He was reminded of Rita Skeeter, and smirked.

That too, was almost longer ago than he could remember.

Harry was now almost two hundred and twenty years old. The thought made him cringe, the thought of living forever had once made him smile, now it wasn't as amazing as it once seemed.

He'd been God father to nine generations of Ginny's family.

Sixteen years ago, a little girl had been born with a shock of red hair to rival Ginny's.

Harry had apparated to France to see her and be named her god father. When he held her in his arms he knew she would have Ginny's spirit.

Tom had joined him on this trip, and Harry had looked over his shoulder at his lover with the tiny girl in his arms, and nodded.

this little one was his choice.

Cora Radley would be the one to take over his seat of power, and he would make sure she knew how.

Harry had been paying for her schooling and extra lessons, as well as supplementing her families living expenses.

He could more than afford it.

Other than that he had not seen her much, her being in France and himself in Britain. But he had people watching over her progress, and he had been assured the girl was as bright and strongwilled as her ancestor.

She had also gained Necromantic powers, that were quite impressive if his contacts were correct.

Not that is was surprising, considering her bloodline.

Harry regreted not being able to help the girl himself.

He looked over his shoulder at the man on the hill.

Even so far away, he looked impatient.

Harry sighed and glared at the ground.

Tom had taken longer to get his affairs in order than Harry had. Picking a predecessor had proved most difficult, and it had taken nearly four years, setting their plans back by about that much.

They had found Nate, a scrawny five year old metamorphagus in one of Tom's many orphanges.

He was easy to spot, his bright yellow hair a beacon.

Harry had paid the youth no mind, continuing to question the matron. He had glanced at Tom when he had noticed his silence.

He followed his lovers eyes to the small boy, and noticed he was pulling the wings off a butterfly.

Harry's first thought was; '_How cliche,'_

Tom didn't seem to think so and wandered over to the boy, kneeling in front of him.

"Your name?" Tom asked when the boy looked up at him. He seemed shocked by his bluntness.

"Nate, dunno my last name." The boy replied.

"You don't know your last name." Tom corrected.

"That's what I said." The yellow haired child looked at the Dark Lord like he might be mad.

To any onlookers it might seem as if Voldemort was set to strike the child, but Harry knew different.

He could see the invisible smile on the Dark Lords face. He knew in that instant that he had found his replacment.

So Nate No Name became Nate Riddle.

Nate was now eighteen, and still preferred yellow hair.

He was equally as horrible as his adoptive parents. Which, Tom said, meant that he was made for this.

It did nothing but worry Harry.

Nate, at that precise moment, was supposed to be at a duelling club.

Which made Harry assume he was finding random girls to sleep with. Tom found it funny.

The yellow haired teen had no idea what Tom and Harry had planned today.

Tom had insisted it be that way.

Though he hadn't said why, Harry knew it was because he felt horrible about it. He would miss his prodigy. If he could.

The Boy Who Saved The World stood, and brushed himself off again.

He didn't feel anymore ready, but he knew he could reminise forever.

He drew his wand as he climbed the hill, tears stinging his eyes, though he held them at bay.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He said when he reached his lord.

"Come sit with me." Tom seemed weary, but that was usual. He was older than Harry was, and Harry himself felt a million years old.

He knew how Ginny felt, now.

"We're done, you understand that? There's nothing more for us here." There was no unkindness in the words, but Harry felt it anyway.

"I know." He replied, leaning into the Dark Lord, seeking comfort from him, though he knew the man didn't have much comfort left.

An arm wrapped around him and he leaned in further, so grateful for the effort.

Tom's wand traced his cheek, and he flinched.

"Please, Harry." There was a quiver to Tom's voice that Harry had seldom heard before.

He raised his wand and rested it against his lovers heart.

"I love you," Harry told him, his face still very much obscured by Toms robes. He felt better hidden.

He always had.

"I love you. Always have."

Harry was still for a moment.

Admissions of love were very rare. He always bathed in it when he could.

"On three?" Tom whispered, and Harry nodded into his robes.

"One," Tom said slowly, giving Harry time to prepare himself.

"Two,"

Harry had the urge to run, and stiffened.

"Three,"

Green light shone all around them, neither needing to speak the incantation for it to take effect.

the two fell back, as if sleeping.

* * *

><p>It was tight. Like apparition, but slower. Painful. It was dark, Harry expected that. He could feel his head caving in and wondered if that was normal.<p>

Was being dead supposed to be this way?

He'd died before, sure. But it was only temporary.

He felt wet.

Suddenly, he could see, and it was cold.

everything was blurry and he wondered what kind of hell this was.

His size alarmed him. He felt very small. His arms and legs seemed to kick and fling without his control.

Something warm was holding him.

Without warning, he realised what was going on.

And he screamed like only a newborn infant could.


	47. Outtakes and an important notice

_(A/N** Since a lot of you have asked about a sequel, I'll try and make it a bit clearer. There are two. Novum Tenebris and Repetere Tenebris, which are both posted. The two have close time lines and run hand in hand, making it possible to read them in any order. Novum follows Tom and Harry's chosen successors, Nate and Cora, and Repetere follows a reborn Tom and Harry. Since requires story content, ****have**** some little out-takes that weren't necessary to the plot of LT. They're in no particular order.)**_

* * *

><p><em>Jamie Jager and the bubble wand.<em>

"He's just adorable." Harry said, cooing.

"If you think so," Tom said, not looking up from his book.

"Jamie, Jamie come here. Show uncle Harry your bubble wand."

Jamie laughed and hid the wand behind his back, his eyes bright as he said; "Gone!"

Bubbles poured out from behind him, making it quite clear that it was not gone. Harry laughed.

"Where did it go, Jamie? Where is it?" Harry spread his hands out, book in one of them, looking confused. Tom scoffed and turned a page.

"Where is it?" Jamie said, putting the wand back in front of his face.

"There she is!" He proclaimed, suddenly giving it a gender.

The book in Harry's hand was forgotten. He was much more amused by his god son than Arithmancy.

A loud crack made Harry jump and reach for his wand.

He stopped dead when he saw what had caused the noise. Eris with a dead Ginny.

Tom stood instantly, understanding that he couldn't be present for this resurrection.

He scooped up the little boy, whose face had already transformed into one of unadulterated horror. He started screaming when they reached the door.

"Mommy! Oh no!"

Tom shushed the boy, feeling out of his depth as he took Jamie to the toy room his lover had set up for the toddler. He put the boy down and he cried harder.

"Jamie," The Dark Lord said, trying to get his attention and failing.

He was screaming quite loudly and Tom frowned.

"Your mother will be fine," He tried again, holding the boys shoulders and kneeling in front of him.

Jamie didn't seem to understand Tom's logic.

"Please, mommy?" He asked, pointing back the way they came and choking on his sobs.

Tom noticed he was still holding the wand, it was trying to make bubbles but Jamie's misery was making his magic unable to keep the effort up.

Tom took the wand from his hand; instantly causing a bubble dragon to fly around the young boy's head, shooting sparks from its mouth.

Jamie paused in his crying, taking a deep breath as he watched the dragon.

"Wow," He said after a moment, before turning his eyes on Tom.

"Hug?" He asked, reaching his arms out. Tom faltered, not wanting to make the child cry again, though not comfortable with hugging him.

"Hug?" He asked again, his lip quivering.

"Look!" The Dark Lord tried, pointing at the bubble still circling above them.

Jamie ignored him, reaching his arms out further and whining.

"Okay, okay," Tom said, allowing the little boy to fall forward into his open arms.

"Lets just keep this between you and me." He said, the small boy snuggling into his shoulder.

* * *

><p><em>Ginny Weasley and the admission.<em>

_"I think I'm gay." Harry thought it odd that Eris would be the first one he admitted this too, but he figured that it would help ease the animosity between them._

_Eris nodded, as if that was all he needed to hear. _

_"Well, I'll leave you two alone then, sounds like you have a lot to talk about." Harry said, and he tapped his wand on the snake ring._

_OooO_

Ginny re-entered the room when Eris called her, wringing her hands in worry. She hoped that the two hadn't fought to much, or hurt each other. She truly didn't want

her two greatest friends to hate each other. She wanted Harry to approve and Eris to accept her friend as he was.

"Did he leave?" She asked when she noticed Harry missing.

"Yes. Everything is fine," He said when her forehead creased.

"What did he say?" She asked, coming forward. Eris shrugged.

"Everything is fine." He repeated, smirking slightly.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?" He asked after they had lapsed into a short; slightly awkward silence. Ginny blinked and crossed her arms, sensing where this was going and cursing her best friend.

"No, why?" She said, not looking at her mentor.

"I think you're a lying little necromancer," He took a step toward her, his grin widening, making her heart skip a beat.

"What did he say?" She asked, a little breathless.

"He mentioned you. Said you had no interest in him; because you had your eye on someone else." He was moving ever closer, and she cursed Harry again. And blessed him.

"And what did you tell him?" She asked, having cleared her throat loudly before hand.

"I told him you were mine," He growled, close enough now to yank her into his arms.

"Eris," She gasped, unable to say much else before he pressed his mouth to hers.

* * *

><p><em>Nate Riddle and the Red Haired Girl.<em>

"This is Cora, Nate. She's going to help you rule someday," Harry held a photograph of a small red haired girl, once again trying to connect with the boy that the press had named his son. Tom sat on the other side of the small boy, nodding encouragingly to his partner.

"I like her." Nate said, looking to Tom for approval. The Dark Lord nodded and Nate looked back to the picture.

"She's pretty," He said, now looking to Harry for affirmation. He smiled at the boy.

"Her hair's red, like her insides." The five year old said, and tom bit his lip, fighting laughter. Harry stood quickly.

"For the love of fuck," Harry snapped as he stalked out of the room, scowling as Tom's escaped laughter followed him.

* * *

><p><em>Ron Weasley and the hunger.<em>

"You don't really think he'll do it, d'you?" Ron asked, concerned.

Lily Potter shrugged.

"Looks as if he might." She said, her arms crossed.

"Bloody hell. This can not end well."

"Maybe it will work." She said, looking to her husband, who raised an eyebrow.

"Don't think it will, Lily love. But it sure beats my regular Friday."

She smiled at him.

"Hey! I'm not here for your entertainment." Ron snapped, though he was more concerned with the scene unfolding before him.

Suddenly, he felt a pull in his midsection, making him horribly uncomfortable. If he had a body he might have thrown up.

A second later he was viewing the world through his old eyes, and he was hungry, hungry hungry. Years of emptiness suddenly upon him like a tidal wave.

But there was food, food.

He lunged, and there was blood, spurting like a fountain, right into his hungry mouth.

And, just as quickly, it was over.

"That went well," James laughed, elbowing Ron in the ribs.

"Wouldn't you say?" He asked his wife, who frowned at his humour.

"If he ever tries that again, it'll be to soon." Ron said, and Lily laughed.

"I don't think he will, to be honest."


End file.
